Merton Council shortlisted for four national awards

Merton Council has been shortlisted within four categories for the Local Government Chronicle awards. The council is up for awards for its work around hoarding, preventing homelessness and dementia. 

The Dementia Hub is up for awards in two categories: Commissioning Pioneer and Business Transformation. Merton Council's hub is the first of its kind in London and one of the first in the UK as a whole. 

Commissioned by the council to manage the hub, the Alzheimer's Society runs the community-based service for those living with dementia, as well as their family and carers. The hub helps those at any stage of the illness by providing access to a range of social care and health professionals in one place.

In the Innovation category, Merton's Hoarding Protocol is up for an award. The first of its kind in Britain, the Hoarding Protocol has been developed with several local partners, including Circle Housing Merton Priory. 


It uses practical actions in order to work with those who hoard, assessing what they need and helping to find solutions by working with several agencies.

The protocol was first introduced in 2013 and has so far helped 25 customers, allowing them to enjoy a better quality of life at home and also cutting down public costs.

The council's work on homelessness has been shortlisted in the Business Transformation category of the awards. 

Around 220 private sector households in Merton were affected by the new benefits cap, and so the council saw that something needed to be done to protect people against homelessness. As a number of people were no longer receiving housing benefit and were soon to be evicted, the council worked with the Department for Work and Pensions to support the affected households.

Councillor Stephen Alambritis, leader of Merton Council, said:  "I am immensely proud that Merton has been shortlisted in these well regarded national local government awards. This is the first time Merton has been shortlisted four times in one awards ceremony, an achievement that reflects the business-like approach we have taken in running our services. 

"Despite the very serious financial challenges facing the council, we have continued to serve and support those who are most vulnerable in our community ensuring they have a better quality of life, and in some cases, in a way that very few local authorities in the country have been able to do.”  

The winners will be announced on March 11th.

Published 26th January, 2015

© 2015 Estates IT Limited