Court of Common Council
Thursday 9 October 2025
Question posed to Chair of Community and Children’s Services concerning winter fuel-type payments to residents on Golden Lane Estate by Tana Adkin KC of Castle Baynard:
Could the Chair of the Community and Children’s Services Committee confirm whether the City will be making a winter fuel-type payment to all residents on the Golden Lane Estate this winter to compensate them for the dilapidated windows and air leaks likely to increase their energy costs?
– Cllr Tana Adkin
NOTE: GLERA have been pushing the City to agree a winter fuel payment since the beginning of this year (GLERA + CoL meeting February). Taken from the meeting summary:
You flagged the implications of ongoing costs for residents arising from delays in window repairs. We undertook to review whether it is appropriate to consider a short term discretionary payment for the delay to the Crescent House programme. This would have to be based on a logic such as excessive heat loss and we agreed to consider this as an exceptional matter. Monitoring this issue is currently being explored with the Climate Action Strategy Team (to help inform the approach). This has to be considered in the context of blocks on other estates within the housing portfolio.
– Judith Finlay, Executive Director of Community and Children’s Services
A winter fuel payment has been agreed under urgency (see below) and GLERA has been informed that the Corporation will write to residents confirming the details.
Watch from 1:01:20
transcript
1:01:22 | Tana Adkin KC (Castle Baynard)
Would the Chair of the Community and Children’s Services Committee confirm whether the City will be making a winter fuel-type payment to all residents on the Golden Lane Estate this winter to compensate them for the dilapidated windows and air leaks likely to increase their energy costs.1:01:57 | Deputy Helen Fentiman (Aldersgate, Labour) – Chair Community and Children’s Services Committee
Golden Lane Estate is home to more than 650 residents and the estate itself is grade two listed. The plan for Golden Lane Estate is now finally progressing as a strong deliverable 10-year renewal plan after many years of delay. As a result of these delays, I recognise the need to support Golden Lane residents as they are now living with ineffective windows.Consequently, officers have reviewed a number of measures that will go some way to address these. Already, temporary improvements are being made on the poorest windows at Crescent House, and we will provide door curtains for those who request them and importantly to specifically answer your question, we have considered the cost of heating over the winter period. We know that fuel bills are a pressure for people and therefore work has been undertaken together with the Climate Action Team to assess the impact of window quality on heating bills.
A report of this was to be presented to the Community and Children’s Services Committee. However, because of the importance of this matter and the importance of timing, I and the Deputy Chair of CCS have agreed under urgency, a winter fuel payment for Golden Lane residents. This is for all residents on Golden Lane Estate, leaseholders and tenants, and will be a positive contribution to the cost of people’s energy bills. It will be offered to residents as credits applied to rent and service charges over the five months of the winter period. At this point, it’s been agreed for the coming two years. However, that can be reviewed.
The calculations are a contribution to overall bills and are based on a benchmarked average, we cannot address individual circumstances. It’s specific to Golden Lane because of the length of delays, the very poor condition of the windows, and the time it will take to deliver the programme. The amount will be for five months and will range between £40 a month for a one-bedroom or bedsit, and £60 for a three-bedroom apartment. This is a 2 to 300 pounds as a contribution to fuel bills. However, Great Arthur House is slightly different and will be offered £100 as the majority of their windows have already been replaced.
We have a plan for social housing and that is starting to work. I hope you will see that this is an example of the consideration we’re giving to our residents in Golden Lane Estate.
1:05:00 | Alderwoman Liz King (Cripplegate)
I think it is important that this Honourable Court understands that it is following the Golden Lane Estate Residents Liaison Group last week, attended by Deputy Ceri Wilkins and Counsellor Dawn Frampton who then followed up regarding the winter fuel payments and they have now received the reassurances that the Chair of CCS was able to give us today that the support will be in place, and it would been nice to have known of this question in advance.1:05:46 | Munsur Ali (Portsoken)
I very much appreciate this question but I want to remind the Court and the Chair of Community and Children’s Services that a similar question was raised by myself in terms of winter fuel payment in our Ward in Portsoken, where not only do we have housing estate belonging to the City of London with lots of repairs and mould issues and issues of similar nature but also the Guinness Estate which used to be part of Tower Hamlets up until 1994. Our neighbouring boroughs have a very wide appeal and service in terms of the winter fuel payment which a lot of residents have requested in in my Ward.So my questions specifically are as follows: one is to be very clear about the winter fuel payment and support for people all throughout the City i.e. residents, especially vulnerable people in my Ward, and secondly make that widely available the information, because that was one of the largest problems last time and there was a lot of confusion in terms of winter fuel payment and process as well especially in a Ward like Portsoken where a lot of people do not speak English as a first language as well, so I would really like some responses back on that.
1:07:23 | Deputy Helen Fentimen
It is absolutely true to say that the Cripplegate Members have been very forthright in the comments that they have been making about the parlous state of Golden Lane and I thank them for that. I know that some of the Cripplegate members are also residents of the estate and so they feel it very acutely on a day-by-day basis, there are residents who talk to them about these issues, and I’m therefore very pleased that on this occasion we’re able to respond very positively and thank you for all of the work that you have been doing – and please continue.With respect to the Portsoken Ward, as Members will appreciate, the Mansel Street Estate which is Guinness Estate, is not the responsibility of City of London and I think we’ve said here before that where it is possible, we make contact with the managers and the officers in the Guinness housing association (I think I’m might be mis-calling it as an association), however, with the Guinness agency responsible for Mansel Street. We cannot take on responsibilities for another organisation, however, we can bring pressure to bear on the issues that are brought to us as a result of residents in that area.
So far as Middlesex Street is concerned, there have been a number of improvements already made on that estate. That estate is not included in this because there are very, very specific issues to Golden Lane that do not apply to other parts of our social housing estate. That includes Middlesex Street and those estates that are outside the City of London boundaries for which we are responsible.
1:09:20 | Deputy Marianne Fredericks (Tower)
You’ve partially answered my question when you said that this is specific to the Golden Lane Estate and not those outside the City of London or Middlesex Street, but have we got a published criteria or rationale for that, for transparency because I’m sure there’ll be residents who would be watching on estates outside the City which we maintain and due to delays in projects they might be suffering the similar consequences of high fuel bills and other issues. So, in terms of transparency, are you going to clearly define why the Golden Lane is getting that funding, and at what point would this money be available to other estates if they reach that benchmark?1:10:10 | Deputy Helen Fentimen
As I said in my main response the calculation was based on comparatives and it was led by the Climate Action Team particularly looking at the EPC [Energy Performance Certificate] of the estate. So there were very clear criteria. I can ask our Climate Action colleagues and the officers from the Housing Department to share that with all Members if that is of interest.Should other estates for whom we are responsible reach a similar state then we would have an obligation to look at that as well using exactly the same criteria, the EPC, but I am assured that there are none in the same condition as Golden Lane Estate and at the moment would not meet the EPC criteria and the recommendations of the Climate Action Team. So, we can always review this, the Housing Sub-committee can always review this and make a recommendation to CCS. But on current information, it’s not extended beyond Golden Lane Estate.
– (auto-generated transcript provided by YouTube, with minor corrections and tidying up)
NOTE: Local authority housing is expected to meet an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C by 2030 in England and Wales, although there are no formal minimum standards yet. This is part of the Government’s broader strategy to improve the energy efficiency of all rented homes and is a step towards Net Zero Carbon by 2050.
