Tag: Islington Council

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Financial ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders

Inspection of Islington Council Accounts until 26.7.13

NOW is your opportunity until 26 July to inspect key important documents such as contracts, bills, invoices or receipts etc, which may answer some questions you have about what you’ve been asked to pay for by Islington Council.  Below is the official Council invitation with all the details.  Many leaseholders have been pleased they’ve done so in the past and saved money from the knowledge gained.   Remember the questions is not ‘why’ (that’s for Councillors) but relating to 2012-13,  how much, when or request to see the relevant contract.

Inspection of Accounts

Audit of Accounts 2012-13
  • Audit Commission Act 1998, sections 15 – 16
  • The Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2011 Regulations 9, 10, 21 and 22
Each year the council’s accounts are audited. In line with the above Acts and Regulations any person interested has the right to:
  • inspect the accounts and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts relating to them and
  • make copies of the above (A charge may be made for copies).
The accounts for the year ending 31 March 2013 and documents will be available at the Council Offices, 7 Newington Barrow Way, London N7 7EP between 9.30am and 4.30pm on Mondays to Fridays from Monday 1 July 2013 until Friday 26 July 2013.
If you wish to inspect any particular documents please apply first to Mohammed Sajid, Chief Accountant, at the above address, call 0207 527 2574 or email Mohammed.Sajid@islington.gov.uk so that arrangements can be made. Please note: you may need to visit other offices to view some documents.
From 10.00am on 29 July 2013 until the end of the audit process, a local government elector for the area of the Council, or his/her representative, may:
  • ask the auditor questions about the accounts.  Please contact Mr Philip Johnstone, Director, KPMG LLP (UK) at 15 Canada Square, London, E14 5GL to make arrangements to ask any questions.
  • object to the council’s accounts asking that the auditor issue a report in the public interest (under section 8 of the Audit Commission Act 1998) and/or apply to the court for a declaration that an item in.
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ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders

Schematic drawing outlining Islington council hierarchy

For the convenience of its members the ILA has persuaded the council to provide a simple schematic outline (see below) of their current managment structure…

…It should be noted however that council employees occupying these positionsfrequently change without prior warning…Therefore since only the titles can be relied upon at any given point in time, identification of officers currently in posthas been deliberately ommitted…  Islington Council Housing Staff Structure


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Financial ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders

Millions could be raised in Islington leasehold sale

Gazette reports more than £20million could be raised for new homes if Islington Council take up Dr Brian Potter ( ILA chair) suggestion and  offers leaseholders a one-off chance to extend their leases by 99 years at a knock-down price. more 

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ILA Islington Lands Tribunal LBI Leaseholders Major Works Service Charges

Tremlett Grove Leaseholders declare victory

Islington Gazette reported that Homeowners have declared victory after Islington council announced it will not contest a ruling that it blew £1million overpaying on repair work more

 

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Financial Housing ILA Islington LBI Leaseholders PFI Service Charges

Open Letter to Leader Catherine West and Islington Council

From:  Dr Brian Potter ILA

To: Catherine West (catherine.west@islington.gov.uk),   james.murray@islington.gov.uk,  paul.convery@islingtonlabour.org.uk, richard.greening@islington.gov.uk,  richard.watts@islington.gov.uk

Dear Catherine.

Since the ILA’s last proposal to raise cash for Islington (99 year Lease Extensions) appears to have drawn so much attention (including from other borough’s!) we hope that you will also consider another of our schemes, which although not as lucrative as the first, will potentially raise a great deal of much needed cash, very quickly.

Very briefly…

A/ In Islington’s leases, Leaseholders only own the glass, not the window frames!

B/ A major source of problems has been due to window repairs/replacement for which contractorsgrossly over charge. (Most windows have under gone extensive work through the Decent Homes Project already)

C/ So..When contacting leaseholders re a 99 year lease Extension…also offer to sell them their windows…at a discount…as a one off offer…in the same time frame as the lease extension?

Back ground…

Formally, to buy your windows through HFI      you were required to seek planning permission and alicense…all of which cost money and involved administrative costs to the order of approximately £1000-2000 per property.

The ILA has finally convinced HFI that both the planning permission and license were an unnecessary cash burden, which prevented leaseholders from buying their windows via a “Deed of Variation”. However, as a result of years of negotiations with HFI, leaseholders can now purchase the DOV within a couple of weeks, at a total cost of £380. (I purchased mine last month).

If this sum was reduced to £180 in a one off promotion, I am sure that the majority of Islington’s leaseholders would be happy to take part.

Peripheral advantages to this scheme…

1/ Many more leaseholders would be inclined to use the small local builders…thereby generating bothcash and employment in the borough, and reduce both the council’s responsibility and contractual work load!

2/ The large contracts currently being allocated cost the borough a fortune, and are totally un-manageable and impossible to monitor…and, invariably uses sub-contracted labour from…who knows where?

3/ If the leaseholders are satisfied with this arrangement they will have no need to challenge the billing at law (LVT), so saving the borough a great deal of cash during the course of the year in defending issues related to cost and quality of works by employing very expensive external firms of solicitors. See Tremlett Grove…!!!

Legal safe guards…

In order to ensure that the leaseholders comply with council requirements in regard to conservation areas etc…Caveats can be included, if and when required…

Possible income of…non-ring fenced cash…

Math…11,000 x £180 = £??????????

Brian.

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Financial Housing ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders Service Charges

‘Legalised money laundering’ by Islington Council – Gazette Letter of the week

For those of you unable to obtain last weeks Islington Gazette dated 6 September 2012.

Please click here  IslingtonGazetteLetters06.09.12

The Islington Gazette – Thursday 6 September 2012  , Page 18 – Letters

1)      Letter of the week – ‘Legalised money laundering’ by Council

By Dr Brian Potter, Islington Leaseholders Association/

Federation of Islington Tenants Association

2)      Leaseholders – A silence that is far from golden

By Kay Newsom, Islington Leaseholders Association member

 3)      Democracy – Champions must not be chumps

By Richard Rosser Highbury New Park. N5

Send your letters to islingtongazette.letters@archant.co.uk

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Financial Information Islington LBI Leaseholders Service Charges

Islington Council must face investigation for scandal of contractor overpayments

Islington Gazette reports calls for investigation into Islington Coucil “…Islington council had a vested interest in overcharging by contractors …… The message being sent out to contractors by Islington council is ” if you get caught overcharging, don’t worry we will pay the legal cost with public money to defend your actions…..”

Full   Islington Gazette  articles here  

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Financial Housing ILA Islington Leaseholders Service Charges

Islington town hall’s ‘sweetheart deal’ with building firm is condemned

A legitimate arrangement between the council and building firm Kier, which ran from 2000 to 2010, saw each party receive £12.1million of taxpayers’ money over the ten-year period.

The council confirm that the share they received will be spent on building new homes, but many leaseholders, who are charged for repair work, feel they are entitled to some kind of rebate because they believe they paid their share of the full estimate, not the actual cost.

Full   Islington Gazette article articles here  

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Housing Information Islington Leaseholders

New Fire Safety Rules about your front door

Have you received a letter from Home Ownership recently on this topic?
‘Leaseholders have a duty to ensure the from door to their front door is fire and smoke resistant (for up to 30 minutes)’
‘London Fire Brigade may take action to enforce the required improvements’.
Have you wondered what you should do?
When I rang for advice, the Fire Brigade duty officer knew nothing about it and the project team listed in the letter were on annual leave.
This is what I did.
I measured the width of my door. It was the required 44 mm thick.
The door was of solid wood when I knocked on it several times.
I bought a PERCO-Invisible Door Closer for £15.58 at  278 Holloway Road, and found it in the Highbury Barn hardware shop.
My carpenter is coming to fit this closer as soon as he can after I come back from holiday myself.
Let us see what more Home Ownership want us leaseholders to do to our doors.
Miranda Perfitt
Disclaimer: This is for your info only,  you follow it at your own risk,  as the ILA are not insured to give advice.
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Financial Housing ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders Major Works Service Charges Website

Dispatches – C4 TV reports Tremlett Grove Leaseholders overcharged by Islington Council

You can watch Dispatches Channel 4 TV programme  reporting on Tremlett Grove Leaseholders being overcharged by Islington Council . It’s available online here

 

The Dispatches website  comments pages on the programme has been busy. here

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ILA Information Islington LBI Leaseholders

Potter rubbishes powerless “Housing Executive”

Many residents will by now have received the latest of Islington Council’s proclamations entitled “Your housing service needs you!” in which they attempt to convince us that they are genuinely intending to promote meaningful consultation in the borough.
Sadly, although not in the least unexpected, I fear that once again they are desperately trying to sell us another of their “Chocolate Teapot” promotions. … council officers have euphemistically titled the proposed new main assembly “The Islington Housing Executive”, however, since this particular body is simply there to observe the council’s decisions, without the power to either reverse or prevent their implementation, what they truly represent is, in reality, a loosely camouflaged replica  of the old ALMO board of directors, claiming to be tenant representatives!
So…all in all…absolute rubbish…!
Why waste public money on this nonsense, when all that is in fact required, is a scrutiny panel,comprised of delegates from the main housing bodies in the borough, charged with reporting their findings directly back to their organisations, and afforded the power to ameliorate, or even, if necessary, challenge unacceptable council decisions…!!!
Dr B. S. Potter.
Chairman: – Islington Leaseholders Association (ILA)
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