Redundancies announced at Lambeth Living (From This Is Local London)

Redundancies announced at Lambeth Living

7:30am Tuesday 7th September 2010 in

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Up to 70 jobs will be axed within the next three months at the organisation managing Lambeth housing.

Lambeth Living has outlined details of the “restructuring” it believes will improve services to tenants and leaseholders living in the borough's 34,000 home social housing stock.

A third of staff face redundancy, as between 40 and 70 posts are axed from the 468 strong workforce at the arms length management organisation (almo).

Lambeth Living Chief Executive Cathy Deplessis would not reveal what posts were under threat because of a consultation taking place with affected staff, who were told about the redundancies yesterday, but could not rule out a loss of frontline staff.

Terry Gallagher, director of resources and deputy chief executive, said the restructuring was a result of “inefficiencies in our systems are own staff, tenants and leasheolders have pointed out to us”.

Ms Deplessis said the ratio of four to one staff providing frontline services would remain, and one director and 28 managers will be lost.

She said the almo's restructuring would see a centralised approach to services moved to three specific teams focussing on the geographical areas of North, central and south Lambeth, which will cover Streatham and Norwood.

New contracts worth £700m will also be drawn up with 12 area based contractors compared to the current 80 outsourced comapnies to deliver services such as repairs.

It is estimated the plans will save it £1m immediatly and a further £300,000 over the next three years which it wants to plough back in to the repairs budget.

Mrs Deplessis said: “The new plans will see local teams working much more collaboratively to cover all aspects of services including day-to-day repairs, customer services, tenancy enforcement, major works and estate services.”

She said it would reduce the “nightmare situations” where tenants and leaseholders had received a poor service by being “lost in the system”.

She said it would personalise and localise services, leave staff trained in more areas, and make specific teams more accountable to residents.

Frontline services such as cleaning, concierge and the emergency maintenance teams will not yet be affected becasue they will be considered when new long-term contracts are drawn up with contractors.

Lambeth Living will now consult with tenants over the proposals, until 26 September.

Public consultation meetings from 7pm to 9pm have been set up in each of housing forum areas.

Streatham's will take place in the Palace Road Community Hall in Coburg Crescent on 14 September, while Norwood’s is at the Cental Hill Day Centre in Lunham Road on September 15.