Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey Labour misled Grenfell-era regulator over fire risk in council estates
Hi all
I wanted to share this video of Mark Blake, Green leader of Haringey Council, on today’s damning report from the Regulator of Social Housing, giving Haringey's council housing a C4, the lowest possible grade. The Regulator found that the Labour-run council had a substantial backlog of overdue repairs, including damp and mould, and significant failings in how it treated tenants.
In 2023, the Regulator said that Haringey’s Labour-run council had “put thousands of tenants at potential risk by failing to meet health and safety requirements for fire and electrical safety.” In November 2025, the council wrote to the Regulator stating that it had fixed all high risk, overdue fire safety issues.
Today’s report reveals that this was untrue. In fact, Haringey’s Labour administration failed to disclose thousands of overdue fire safety remedial actions to the Regulator, despite these risks being known by the Council.
Staggeringly, Labour didn’t tell the housing regulator about thousands of fire safety risks which they had done nothing about. There are currently almost 8000 serious fire safety risks – one for every other council house.
Overdue actions include repairing and replacing fire alarms, structural fixes to stop fires starting or spreading, and – particularly concerning – changes to external cladding. The Regulator of Social Housing was given greater powers after Grenfell to prevent further deadly fires in council housing. Councils are obliged to report fire safety issues to the Regulator.
In response, we’ve announced a major overhaul of the Council’s housing services. We have taken the unprecedented step of releasing files that detail our engagement with the Regulator about fire safety. We will also launch an independent investigation into the events that led to the C4 grading and appoint an external expert to oversee the changes to Haringey’s housing services. Our promise to council tenants is that we will always tell you the truth and we will overhaul a housing service that has let you down.
In addition to the video there is more information in the press release.
Best wishes
Cllr Jo Kuper
Green Councillor
Harringay Ward, Cabinet Member for Resident Services and Tackling Inequality
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton
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Hello Cllr Kuper. Thank you for posting this information. And also links to Cllr Mark Blake's video and further information; which I will read carefully.
Have you or your colleagues any information about what went so seriously wrong; where and when?
Alan Stanton.
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Permalink Reply by Cllr Jo Kuper
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Hi Alan,
Thank you for your note. At this stage all the available information is in the files and dashboard here.We have also launched an independent investigation which we expect to last around six weeks, to establish exactly how this could have happened and where responsibility may lie.
Our primary concern is to identify and fix the root causes and ensure all of Haringey’s residents have a safe and secure home to live in. I'll share more information as I have it.
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Permalink Reply by Jamie Harper
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That's some brass neck...
This inspection took place at a time when neither I nor the administration I was part of was in power. The judgement reflects the findings of the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) at the time of its inspection. The fact the findings are so widespread shows the Green Party have no grip on housing services.
— Cllr Sarah Williams (@SarahWHaringey) October 29, 2026
The focus must now be improving housing services and ensuring residents receive the quality of service they rightly deserve. My priorities remain accountability, transparency and better outcomes for residents.
I am confident in my own record and will always stand by it. Following serious allegations made against me, I will be seeking legal advice.
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Shameless - Cllr Williams ought to resign as a councillor and face prosecution if found responsible for deliberately covering things up as Deputy Leader of the Council and the cabinet member responsible at the time.
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Hello Sarah Williams,
Thanks for your willingness to contribute clear information.
But I hope you can agree with me that your choice of the Elon Musk-owned platform "X" is - for many reasons - hardly appropriate or effective for such a vital discussion.
Best wishes,
Alan Stanton
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