Agenda item

The Committee received a deputation from Nick Martin-Clark from the Haringey Leaseholders Association and Paul Burnham from Defend Haringey Council Housing. NOTED:

1. On the day prior to the meeting, the High Court had granted permission for a Judicial Review around a leaseholder specific issue, on the grounds that the consultation process was flawed and that Homes for Haringey (HfH) did not have a valid contract in place with Haringey Council. The issues raised around consultation and accountability could be applied to the proposed Haringey Development Vehicle,  particularly because the issue that was the focus of the Judicial Review and the HDV related to the Future of Housing Review. There were also direct legal challenges being made to the Development Vehicle.
2. The HDV reflected the Government’s estate regeneration programme, which was accompanied by minimal public funding and instead encouraged local authorities to secure funding from the private sector instead.  
3. There were significant concerns around the protection of resident’s rights of return and, despite verbal promises to the contrary, protections were not reflected in written Council policies.
4. The  process of developing the HDV should be halted to allow further scrutiny.

The Committee received a second deputation from Adrian Weir, of the Unite trade union, accompanied by Danny Spencer of the GMB union. NOTED:

1. It was surprising that Haringey had chosen Lendlease as its preferred bidder. Lendlease had a history of anti-trade unionism and blacklisting construction workers, which had had a devastating effect on affected workers and their families. They had also been found to have over charged on public sector contracts in America and had had to pay significant compensation.
2. In 2013 trades unions launched High Court proceedings against a number of construction employers over blacklisting claims. A number of out of court settlements were received in 2016; however a number of issues remained outstanding.
3. Lendlease were one of the companies that had proceedings issued against them and it had been confirmed in the construction press that Lendlease had settled their cases. Blacklisters should not be rewarded with public contracts.

In response to the deputation, the Committee sought clarification on whether it was Lendlease that undertook blacklisting or whether the cases referred to related to Bovis, which had since been taken over by Lendlease. Mr Weir responded that these cases referred to did refer to Bovis, but Lendlease must have been aware as part of the due diligence prior to the takeover. In addition, there were more recent accusations of blacklisting against Lendlease relating to the Bluewater shopping centre. 

Cllr Alan Strickland, the Cabinet Member for Housing, Regeneration and Planning responded to the deputations. NOTED

a.    The consultation on the Future of Housing Review was a consultation on tenancy management and did not look at wider issues of regeneration, and was not a direct precursor to the Development Vehicle. Tenancy consultation in areas like Northumberland Park, including on estate renewal and regeneration, started before the Future of Housing Review, and before the then Prime Minister’s announcements on estate renewal.

b.    At the recent Cabinet Meeting, the Council’s Assistant Director of Corporate Governance and Monitoring Officer, made clear that the legal proceedings referred to did not have an impact on the Council’s ability to make a decision on the preferred bidder for the HDV.

c.    Haringey condemned the practice of blacklisting and would never condone its use. Lendlease had stated clearly that historical cases of blacklisting related to Bovis before their acquisition, and all claims had since been settled.

d.    The list of 40 blacklisting companies that was released by the Information Commissioner did not contain Lendlease.

e.    Lendlease had a good record of working with the public sector on school and hospital projects, on the BBC, and on Parliament. They had therefore been through rigorous public sector procurement processes successfully.