During a campaign visit to Camden, the Communities and Housing Secretary, Sajid Javid denounced Camden Council's handling of the Chalcots Estate evacuation, while also stating that the council needed to be transparent about the government support they want.
Sajid Javid said, “It's important to remember there were multiple fire safety failures, including 1,000 fire doors that were found inadequate. That's a failing of the local council. For a long time the council wanted to deny any responsibility for it, and that didn't help build local confidence. People have the right to feel safe, and they don't. It's the council job, and they haven't been up to it.”
He further said, “If [councils] need financial support, then they should approach the government and we will give them the support they need. Some councils need to do a better job, get their act together and tell us what they need, but we won't be turning any council away if they need financial flexibilities. What I see across the county is Conservative councils that provide better frontline services for lower taxes. What you see in Camden in a typical Labour administration that has no idea how to manage money. They would rather cut frontline services than finding savings and proper efficiencies.”
