Lib Dems highlight top 3 issues for Ealing Council from Ealing Peer Challenge

Ealing Labour are all “smoke and mirrors” say Ealing Liberal Democrats.

Three key findings from the recent peer challenge of Ealing council are:

• Strengthen governance and prioritisation to address housing challenges effectively (recommendation vii)
• Urgent and decisive action is needed to maintain financial sustainability (recommendation vi)
• Improved oversight of trading companies and partnerships, enhance scrutiny functions, and develop protocols for opposition engagement (recommendation ix)

The challenge took place 13 to 16 May 2025 and a report1 presented at Cabinet on Wednesday 3 September 2025.

Housing

• Whilst LBE had referred itself to the Regulator for Social Housing in May 2022 for poor safety management and repairs service, shockingly three years later in 2025 there seems to be minimal progress on addressing this! This means that social housing tenants have not seen any significant improvement in service from Ealing Council.
• The council is failing on its own Key Performance Indicators which are flashing red for
  o emergency repairs (KPI 64)
  o non-emergency repairs (KPI 65)
  o time taken to process housing benefit claims (one of lowest in London) (KPI 39)

Financial Sustainability

• In 2020 Ealing Council borrowed a huge amount of money almost £390m on preferential rates to invest in housebuilding, with repayments stretching into the next 50 years. Yet in 2023/2024 the new housebuilding in Ealing borough has come to a virtual standstill with only 13 affordable housing starts.
• The council has a projected budget gap rising from £14m in 2026/27 to £57.7m by 2028/29. In 2024/25 Q3 budget overspend figure of £22.693m was partially offset by £18.672m in corporate underspends.
  o Most of this is generated from interest earned on the £390m borrowed in 2020 at preferential government rates which has been deposited in commercial banks generating significant interest (at least 4%).
  o This means an income resulting in a positive windfall due to lack of building but one which is not sustainable and cannot be relied on in future financial planning.
• The current Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) includes a balanced position for 1 year only 2025/26 only, the year of a local election (May 2026).

Trading Companies/ Partnership Oversight and Lack of transparency

• Ealing Labour rather than undertake rigorous performance management prefer to simply to wave through contract extensions resulting in poor value for money for residents.
• Last but not least, there are weak transparency protocols for opposition engagement and limited access to information coupled with weak scrutiny procedures to curb democratic engagement by the opposition.

Councillor Gary Malcolm - Leader of the Opposition, Liberal Democrats said: “Liberal Democrats say it is shocking that Ealing Labour have made so little progress on housing, both in terms of low affordable house building numbers and a failing repairs/safety service for social tenants. So little progress has been made in three years on from self-referral to the housing regulator! Ealing Labour are complacently sitting on a financial windfall of earned interest because they are pausing house building when demand is sky rocketing! Sadly, Ealing Labour seek to promote their own agenda with little consideration of democratic transparency and other views. Ealing Lib Dems have been challenging the complacent status quo and asking difficult questions to ensure value can be secured from your council tax.”