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Hello Everyone,

I hope you’ve had a good week in the sunshine, despite at times the weather being searing hot! There was blazing sun at last Sunday’s UK Black Pride 2024 which added to the carnival and joyous atmosphere at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It was the 19th annual Pride celebration of the diverse LGBTQIA+ community of African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and Caribbean origin and heritage; and it is the world’s largest that exists.

It was also the third year it’s been at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, which I am thrilled about. That’s why I’m looking forward to UK Black Pride returning to Newham next year as it celebrates its big milestone 20th anniversary in 2025. 

We brought UK Black Pride to our part of East London back in 2022; and it is part of a number of things we’ve been campaigning about to make sure that the London Legacy Development Corporation lives up to its 2012 Olympic legacy promise of being inclusive and provide loads of opportunities for our local people, including jobs and affordable homes.  

Already, we’ve been working with the Chobham Manor Residents Association on the unfairness of the Fixed Estate Charge, and the lack of transparency about fees being applied to tenants living in social homes run by housing association L&Q. We’ve also campaigned about the growing costs of the district heating network charges that residents are paying. All of this is part of the campaigning work we do, advocating for the interests of Newham residents.

That’s why on Wednesday I took the opportunity to talk to ITV London News about the work we are doing to meet the rising challenge of homelessness in our borough, and the growing costs of temporary accommodation. You can watch the news story here. 

I was asked a bunch of questions, including whether Newham Council is going bankrupt and I replied with an unequivocal NO! Here’s why: because we are taking action now to avert a financial crisis brought about by the UK housing crisis which is affecting all councils in the capital; and all of us know that we need the government to step in to address both housing policy failures and a broken housing market in London which is leading to the financial pressures facing all councils right now. 

London has the largest number of households living in temporary accommodation (TA) in the country, that’s over 57,000 households according to the latest data and 177,000 individuals, the equivalent of 1 in every 50 Londoners, and the numbers have been growing since these latest figures came out earlier this year.

In Newham, we have the highest proportion of residents in TA of any London council, with 6,662 households in temporary accommodation as at the end of July 2024. That’s one in every 20 households in the borough, which is an extraordinary number which I am raising with the government as part of our discussions with them that uniquely they need to help us out. We shouldn’t bear the burden of the failures of the housing market impacting our residents.

You will be right to ask why is it like this in Newham. Basically, it’s because of a number of complex and inter-connected reasons, including having the highest number of residents living in the private rented sector (PRS) at 68%. For instance, over the recent period in Newham:

• The number of homelessness applications to Newham Council increased by 26% last year compared to the previous year, and rightly we have a legal duty to help people who are homeless;
• Newham has the highest number of house repossessions. Last year, it doubled more than anywhere else in London with 4.46 per 1,000 households compared to 2.42 per 1000 households in the capital;    
• There’s been an unprecedented reduction of homes available in the private rented sector. The number of rental listings in Newham fell by 47% in the first quarter of 2022, compared quarterly average during the 2017-19 period;
• Newham has seen the highest rate of rent increases anywhere in the country. According to analysis by Zoopla, PRS rents increased by 21.2% (that’s £320) in 2022 and continue to grow;
• In Newham, 35% of Newham households live below the poverty line, which is the fourth highest in London despite 80% of those households having at least one person working. In-work poverty is real and the cost of living crisis is not helping. 

That’s why when the Summer 2024 Finance Report came to cabinet earlier this month, we were transparent in highlighting the forecast pressures facing the council because of both social care and rising homelessness costs. You can also read the statement we issued about the Council's Financial Position which we issued here.

Without the additional costs of providing temporary accommodation, we would have been in budget last year, not overspent by £22m, and would have forecasted being in budget this year. 

Of course, we are working really hard to prevent people becoming homeless in the first place, through a range of measures including:  

• Early help and intervention with families at risk, including through our Renters Rights campaigning where we undertake enforcement against unscrupulous private landlords;  
• Dramatically reducing the number of homeless households staying in expensive hotel accommodation (because of the reductions in PRS housing supply, which means hotels take advantage to rack up their prices). By way of contrast, in July there were 327 families in hotel placements and through our hard work we’ve seen an 86% decrease now.

Despite our impressive house building programme, I’ve repeatedly said ‘we can’t build our way out of this crisis’, which is why I am making the case to the new government that we need them to fix a broken system and work with us on a joined up approach to address the financial challenge we face right now. The growing high costs of temporary accommodation, is because the private rented sector in London and the wider housing market have failed people.

While we sort it out, we are also ensuring that we put in place robust financial management in the Council. For instance, we continue to reduce our costs across the council to help control and drive down costs in all areas. Through our transformation plans, which will make more savings and efficiencies, we will also be making changes at the Council through a New Operating Model which you can read about here; and we’ll be publishing a revised financial plan in the Autumn as well. Keep an eye out for details of a number of events we have planned to involve residents in the transparent conversations we’ll be having locally about what we have planned.  

On Tuesday, I welcomed the Mayor of the US city of Chattanooga in Tennessee to Newham to show him and Deputy Mayor of London, Mete Coban, our transformation of Beckton Meadows. It’s all part of our Beckton Masterplan which has been co-produced with local residents as part of our Just Transition plans.

On Thursday, I joined students at St Bonaventure’s School over by West Ham Park as they received their A-level and BTEC results. So many of them were over the moon with their outcomes and I was really chuffed and proud! I know how hard all our young people study to achieve their best results, supported by amazing teachers. Whatever the results outcomes for our youngsters, I know that all of us are proud of their hard work and focus on doing their best. I also know that for some of our young people, their result outcomes won’t have been what they had hoped for.

I know it’s easy to feel down about it but never give up as exam results don’t define you! There’s also loads of guidance on our website plus via UCAS to our young people to figure out what next. So if you are a youngster reading this, or a supportive adult helping one of our young people, please know that you’ve got this!

Before I sign off, don’t forget that festival.org kicks off with its GDIF 2024 festival on the 23rd August till the 8th September. It’s one of the best free outdoor festivals in the UK, and we have FOUR amazing events taking place in Newham, including THAW and Dancing City with internationally renowned artist Yoann Bourgeois and his gravity defying creation TOUCH performance which makes its UK premiere in Newham, with a trail of performances spanning Stratford Cross, East Bank and on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. There’s also PATOIS, GDIF’s new dance commission with world-renowned choreographer Jeanefer Jean-Charles MBE, who tells a universal story of lost languages, longing and belonging in Stratford. Plus a two-day programme of events transforming Stratford Park into a theatrical playground for families with PRAM PEOPLE by Australian theatre company Polyglot. It’s the European premiere in Newham because we are the beating heart of London’s culture and it's supported by the Victorian Government! You can read the full GDIF Festival 2024 programme here.

Talking of the beating heat of London’s culture, we have our South Asian Heritage Month 2024 finale taking place at Stratford Old Town Hall today (17th August), with an awesome throwback to the legendary 80s South Asian rave scene with Desi Daydream.  The epic finale event with Shin DCS and DJ MD is set to fill with infectious Bhangra beats, vibrant colours, and unforgettable energy, so hurry and book your ticket (free for Newham residents). We’ll also be announcing our Newham South Asian Heritage Month 2024 awards to this year’s pioneers – so keep an eye out for the news coverage!  

Before I sign off, just a quick reminder that while the hot weather is meant to ease up a bit this weekend it’s likely to still be quite hot and humid, so make sure you have water with you when you are out and about – and don’t forget the sunblock!

Until next week, take care.

Best wishes,

Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE

Follow what I am up to via X/Twitter: @rokhsanafiaz

August Bank Holiday revised waste collection dates for residential properties and trade

Over the August Bank Holiday, don't forget about your revised waste collection day. You won't miss a collection but there will be changes to your collection day. 

If you live in a house or a house split into flats, remember to present your bin at the edge of your property. For guidance on how to present your bins, visit www.newham.gov.uk/BeBinDayReady

View the collection day changes and mark your calendars >

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