For any of you guys still concerned about the nasty asbestos problem regarding my tenancy…I’ve just reached Stage 2 of Southampton Council’s complaints procedure…I’m getting some help from “UNITE Community” and their Housing Campaign…horribly ironically my old mate Tony Twine (formerly joint producer of “Impact” magazine), wrote an article/report for Impact 20 years ago in which he detailed the extent of the asbestos problem within the council’s housing stock…Impact estimated that there were at the time 25,000 tenancies which were asbestos compromised…I have submitted all correspondence re: my complaint to South Today and Panorama (South Today having shown interest in the story last year).
If anyone has any contributions to make (suggestions of organisations to contact or other articles to reference etc.), please dm me or detail them here.
Tony is a UNITE member (retired), and so was my friend Declan Murray (RIP). I attended a Housing Campaign “Zoom” meeting recently and am very seriously thinking of becoming a member (I will get extra legal help for one thing atm they can only offer me 30mins of their time). Declan was taking courses in Oxford paid for by UNITE (he was also a Southampton Unitary Authority academic valedictorian for the study he was doing in book-keeping and he received an award from the mayor), I am considering a journalism course at Solent Uni. I’ve been offered a place there (Enviro. Politics), before but was unable to take it up as I was unable to secure my income (being on DLA -as was-, at the time), …
Extract of email to South Today and Panorama #Representation**
“On the advice of our local Citizen’s Advice Bureau I today contacted a solicitor from Abel’s Southampton who, regrettably, informed me that, due to their workload, they were unable to take my case, they also informed me that there was no one in our region who would be able to take my case on. The solicitor then informed me that it might be possible to seek a “No Win no Fee” solicitor specialising in housing repairs but that even if such representation is available it is likely to come from a London based firm. I explained, as I have to the council (please see correspondence), that I am both mentally and physically incapacitated and will in no wise be able to pursue my complaint without legal support and/or advocacy.”…“P.S This story is also, clearly, about the difficulty of securing representation in today’s Britain.”
Can anyone help with this?
Update: Spoke to “Joanne” from: https://asbestosforum.org.uk/, today she has a report from UCATT for me and is trying to find out if there is legal support she can access. I said UNITE Community would be interested in hearing from members of the forum and that I will also put the media in contact with them should any show interest (if they don’t we’re gonna’ make them!), she o.k’ed this.
Here is the report, entitled: “As Safe as Houses?”: http://classonline.org.uk/docs/As_safe_as_houses.pdf