Daily Times

We are living in a country where corruption and extremism have terminally damaged the smooth functioning of the state. The UK’s local governments are under severe criticism due to a growing criminal and bureaucratic culture in borough (district) councils. The weakness and the growing unpopularity of local government, coupled with a decline in confidence and trust on the part of the communities, have received considerable attention from the print and electronic media. Councils have become deeply divided along social, political and sectarian lines. The growing culture of sectarian hate, extremism, jihadism, gunfights, burglaries, low-living standards, decline of the justice system, the brazen attitude of councils officers and their involvement in huge corruption cases are the most challenging problems. Councils are unable to provide housing to poor and vulnerable families and allot houses on political and ethnic bases and, therefore, the hidden homeless have reached about one million.

With the arrival of over one million European immigrants, poverty is in an uncontrollable state. Leaders of all faiths have suggested that local governments take action and tackle the culture of corruption, rising hunger and food shortages. The local government ombudsman has become a controversial figure. The ombudsman uses his discretionary power not to investigate a complaint as a way of covering up maladministration and injustice. When one makes a complaint to any local body of the council, he is faced with a lot of paper work and a plethora of unintelligible language.

Trust in local governments is at an all time low where political influence, power and self-gratification are the drivers behind corruption. A local NGO called Shelter has recently exposed the real picture of the London boroughs: “Over 1.7 million households are currently waiting for social housing. Some homeless households — many with dependent children — wait for years in temporary accommodations.” Some time back, a 68-year-old Asian man living on my street, being a UK citizen, requested the director of the Hounslow housing department for a permanent one bedroom flat, as he was unable to move here and there after every six months but he received no response.

In July 2014, he again requested the council to consider his problem on a priority bases: “I have been living in 322 Wellington Road South since 2012. The flat I am living in is on the second floor and I have difficulties in stepping up the stairs. When I find a one bedroom flat to rent out, the landlord demands two months advance money and I am unable to pay the advance money because I receive pension. Sir, I am now 68-years-old and will turn 69 on August 2014. The studio flat I am living in is dangerous for my health. It is like a cave built for animals and I face many difficulties. Moreover, under the housing act and environmental health provision, the council is obliged to provide me with suitable accommodation. I have pre-existing medical conditions and suffer from stomach diseases.” The tenant has received no response from the director of the Hounslow council so far.

Shelter believes that this inconsiderate attitude of the local councils is unacceptable and has warned that the UK is now more polarised by housing politics, as 1.4 million children sleep in bad houses in the UK. The issue of corruption, discrimination and racism in Hounslow council and its related departments has often appeared in the local print and electronic media. Corruption is problematic precisely because it crosses the boundary between public life and private interests. The chief executive of Hounslow council and her colleagues have tried to investigate the emerging cases of benefit fraud, housing and council tax fraud on a daily basis. The low quality reconstruction of roads and streets has raised serious questions that something is going wrong behind the curtain. The ministry of local government and communities receives numerous complaints about the corruption and misconduct of boroughs officers every month. The allotment and distribution of houses to UK nationals in Hounslow council is mostly based on discrimination while thousands of elderly men and women are unable to secure even a single flat.

There are speculations that corruption and bribery in the housing allotment section of Hounslow council have reached in alarming peak. The fact of the matter is that tenants have no say and are under severe pressure from the revenue and housing departments. They are harassed through different types of threatening letters. Sometimes they receive council tax demands letters and sometimes they receive irksome letters from the housing department. They have been constantly kept in fear and mental torture. Their benefits are abruptly stopped on the pretext that, according to their own sources, he or she is not living at the address on which they receive housing benefits. Many of those who need help and support do not get high quality services while an increasing number of people who are in significant need are being left to fend for themselves. From council tax to housing benefits and from housing allotments to the mistreatment of elderly tenants, all this paints an ugly picture of the London borough of Hounslow, in and outside the country.

On January 28, 2014, a local newspaper reported that the police department would take over the Hounslow homes’ fraud investigation. The police looked into the allegations of fraud against the staff of the Hounslow housing arm. Most private and public sector organisations are now reporting increased levels of fraud and corruption within the borough. This is one of the reasons why Hounslow council has failed to fully implement its anti-corruption strategy. The council recognises that corruption within its departments causes financial losses and reputational risk. In 2013, the head of the council housing department left while two senior members of the house repair team were suspended on corruption charges. These allegations have tarnished the reputation of the council. In 2013, a local newspaper, Hounslow Chronicle reported the council spokesperson admitted the breach of code of conduct.

The writer is the author of Punjabi Taliban and can be reached at zai.musakhan222@gmail.com