Normal view

London council seizes social housing flat rented by Sierra Leone first lady

11 June 2026 at 16:19

Fatima Jabbe-Bio kept tenancy in Southwark despite living for much of year at presidential lodge in Freetown

A social housing flat rented by Sierra Leone’s first lady has been seized by a London council.

Southwark council confirmed it had repossessed the two-bedroom home in Walworth previously occupied by Fatima Jabbe-Bio, whose tenancy was reported by the Times last year.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA

© Photograph: Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA

© Photograph: Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA

Pilot ‘hyperlocal’ job support scheme in England shows promising signs of effectiveness

Government-funded JobsPlus trial in 10 neighbourhoods could be scalable nationwide, evaluation shows

A government-funded pilot of “hyperlocal” job support in 10 neighbourhoods across England has shown “promising early signs of effectiveness”, including for young people, and could be scalable nationwide, a new evaluation has shown.

The JobsPlus scheme, backed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Youth Futures Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation, focuses intensive support in a small area of predominantly social housing. Echoing a similar, long-established scheme in the US, “community champions” at each site help to engage hard-to-reach people in the local area.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Gary Calton/The Guardian

© Photograph: Gary Calton/The Guardian

© Photograph: Gary Calton/The Guardian

❌