Hand the homes back

• I UNDERSTAND Hillingdon and Ealing councils are consulting residents, leaseholders and tenants with a view to winding up their arms’-length management organisations (Almos).
Councillors have found that operating their own Almos was too expensive and that, as the Decent Homes standard has been achieved, there was no reason to continue with them. One solution would be to take the role of running council housing stock back in-house.
Islington residents must demand the right to have a consultation, followed by a vote, along the lines of whether the council should continue with an Almo or take this responsibility back in-house. Should residents decide, by whatever means used, to request the council to wind up their Almo and take full responsibility for all housing matters, then any future changes to this arrangement must be by the same method.
Homes for Islington managed to get a three-star rating by, I have been told, requesting a pre-inspection review, a little like entering an exam and asking for the questions beforehand. Unfortunately for council tax-payers, we paid dearly for this arrangement, in excess of £70,000. How can this be legal?
EDWARD MURPHY
Aberdeen Park, N5

• HOMES for Islington (HfI) and Islington Council are the same body. Eventually, HfI and the politicians will turn in on each other and then you will see change.
No one should fill in a questionnaire. We live in a democracy so let’s have an open question-and-answer and then no one could hide behind this body or that body.
The council is the body that’s responsible and let’s see it do the right thing. For now, let us all do nothing. Silence is golden.
MARY COSS
Tollington Way, N7