“Labour is failing on enforcement,” accused Councillor Liz Mammatt (Conservative Deputy Group Leader and Councillor for Bedfont), a member of the Planning (Enforcement) Sub-Committee after the meeting on 6 June 2013.
“The outstanding number of cases has shot up from 880 on May 2012 to 1,363 at the end of April 2013, an increase of 483 or 55%. Only four cases were presented at the meeting so the outlook for catching up is far from promising.
The Government is applying pressure on Councils to clamp down on rogue landlords, particularly those with tenants in beds in sheds. The Government made funds available for this purpose in 2012 from which the London Borough of Hounslow received £300,000. It transpires that a further tranche was not granted, unlike other Councils, for 2013-2014 as Hounslow Council had not fully spent the first amount.
Despite the plethora of self-congratulatory Press Releases from the Labour administration, the action on enforcement is highly unsatisfactory,” said Liz.