Call for transparency as Action for Housing Responds to Principal Auditor’s Report

Action for Housing says it has serious concerns following the Principal Auditor’s report and its findings that the Chief Minister was personally involved in the allocation of government housing.

Action for Housing highlights that the Chief Minister has not denied being involved in the allocation of government housing. 

For his part, Fabian Picardo has said he can't go into the details of the case but that they are harrowing, adding he believed those on the housing list would have agreed with the need to intervene. 

Mr Picardo maintains that any intervention on his part was limited to urgent situations involving serious risk or abuse. 

Action for Housing, however, argues that this claim does not hold up, pointing to a backlog of Social A+ and Medical A+ cases that remain unresolved, despite their urgency.

The group points to a 2021 case where it claims a former home-owner was allocated a government flat with the involvement of the Chief Minister. The group claims the case was not vulnerable or urgent and calls it nepotism. 

The pressure group has reiterated that decisions on government housing allocations should remain strictly with the Housing Allocation Committee, warning that political interference undermines fairness and due process.