Jim Very nice of ‘New Labour’ to keep us advised as to how they are spending our money, rather a shame that in doing so they actually can’t give us the true figures. The £100 million that the ‘New Labour’ election leaflets claims credit for is actually less, according to Hounslow Homes own website, reporting as it does, the figure as £90 million. Where the additional £10 million that ‘New Labour’ claims credit for is actually coming from is anyone’s guess. If and when the extra £10 million arrives, I’m confident that it will be willingly accepted by Hounslow Homes. The £90 million government carrot hides the fact that the government are holding a stick over Hounslow Homes and that a condition of Hounslow Homes getting the £90 million is that Hounslow Homes has to bring its housing stock up to Decent Homes Standard by 2010, less than five years away. The £90 million will improve conditions for tenants and leaseholders alike, all tenants and leaseholders will benefit, to some degree or other. However, as Hounslow Homes manage 16,762 properties, including leasehold properties, the £90 million isn’t going to go too far, as the average sum equates to £5,369.29 per property, before fees are taken out. To meet the ‘Decent Homes Standard’, a property has to meet the following criteria: 1. it must meet the current statutory minimum standard for housing2. it must be in a reasonable state of repair 3. it must have reasonably modern facilities and services 4. it must provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfortGovernment figures state that at this stage a third of all housing falls below the decent home standard set by the government. The law defines the ‘statutory minimum standard’ for housing. A good surveyor should be able to define if the fabric of the building and the property itself needs major works and is in a ‘reasonable state of repair’. As for ‘reasonably modern facilities and services’, if a kitchen was fitted over 20 years ago, or if a bathroom was fitted over 30 years ago, tenants stand a fair chance of having a new kitchen and bathroom. The property should also have effective insulation and efficient heating, that’s the ‘reasonable degree of thermal comfort’, try to define ‘reasonable’ in this case. Take a situation where a new roof is needed, replacement windows are needed, fitting a new kitchen and perhaps a new bathroom – you won’t get all that done for just over four thousand pounds which is what 5,369.29 works out to after fees. Don’t even start me off on the West Middlesex Hospital; it’s something that we will be paying for years into the future, thanks to the private finance initiative. It wasn’t Ann Keen’s party who funded the development of West Middlesex Hospital, it was the taxpayer’s money, as we all know. No doubt the ‘’New Labour’ party machine will blame past conservative governments for mismanagement and under funding of the NHS but I seem to recall walkouts of medical staff and closures throughout the early and late 1970’s, when Labour were in government. Finally, the new building at West Middlesex Hospital looks very nice from a distance and having been treated at West Middlesex Hospital before the new building went up, that’s just how I want to remember the place, from afar. And before anyone jumps on the bandwagon, I’m more than happy for anyone to have received excellent treatment from West Middlesex Hospital, it is after all what you deserve. While I was in there, I fully expected to see a BBC film crew and Rolf Harris preparing to film Animal Hospital.
Gareth Evans ● 7283d