Borough looks to set up interim housing-repair contract

Southwark Council has opted to end its contract with Morrison for housing repairs in the south part of the London borough.

It said the contract could be terminated at any point by either party, and that it was looking to “change the way the repairs service operates”.

The council said it was looking to put a one-year interim arrangement in place at the end of a six-month notice period for Morrison, and that it would look to procure a longer-term repairs contract starting from October next year.

Ian Wingfield, Southwark’s cabinet member for housing said the decision to end the Morrison contract had not been taken lightly.

“We feel that to move repairs performance on to the next level, we need a new approach to service delivery,” he said.

“It is very important to the council that any new repairs service is focused on residents and a new contract gives the council the opportunity to design the service around the customer.”