Clause 16 - Duty of local housing authority to formulate a homelessness strategy
Homes Bill
10:30 am
Mr Don Foster (Bath, Liberal Democrat)
It is me again, Mr. Stevenson.
We now move to part II of the Bill. I sure that while many members of the Committee are fascinated by the important issues in part I, they would agree that part II is equally important deserves the same degree of serious consideration that we have given to part I.
As the person moving the first amendment to part II, I could steal the Minister's thunder by giving a tour d'horizon of the first section of part II , as the Minister's hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the hon. Member for Streatham (Mr. Hill), has done on previous occasions. However, knowing that the Minister for Housing and Planning will be keen to do that himself, I shall forbear. I hope that, having read the Bill in detail, members of the Committee will be well aware of the context of the amendments. In simple terms, the amendments pick up a point I raised on Second Reading. It is noted in the Official Report that the Minister nodded at my remarks about the second ghost at the feast, namely, the absence of any mention of registered social landlords in the clause.
The Committee will be aware of the importance of registered social landlords and the vital part they play in the provision of affordable housing. More importantly, the Committee will be aware that that importance is growing daily. Between 1997 and 1998, the number of RSL homes doubled to more than 1 million, while the total number of local authority dwellings fell by more than 1 million. Since 1998, more than 400,000 homes have been transferred from 100 local authorities to RSLs. In the housing Green Paper, the Government indicated that they would support a transfer programme of up to a further 200,000 local authority homes each year.
It is also worth reflecting on the role that RSLs play in meeting the specific requirements of local authorities. To give an example, last year, 1999-2000, local authorities nominated 16,459 homeless households for housing in properties owned by registered social landlords. In much of the country, the vast majority of local authorities have transferred their properties to registered social landlords through the voluntary transfer scheme. Equally important is the fact that they have contracted with registered social landlords to carry out a number of their functions, not least the handling of parts of housing registers and of the local authorities' homeless services. That brief summary makes it clear that in many parts of the country, registered social landlords play a crucial part in dealing with the issue of homelessness. My local authority, Bath and North East Somerset, has already conducted a voluntary transfer. The entire provision of affordable housing is in the hands of a number of registered social landlords, and the local authority has but a very small number of properties available to it.
The purpose of the amendments is to ensure that clear and specific reference is made to registered social landlords on the face of the Bill. The Minister will say that there are already references to voluntary organisations and that the registered social landlords fit within that group. In the past he has used argument A, the list argument, with great effect and the Committee has generally been ready to accept that there is disadvantage in adding baubles to the Christmas tree—adding a list of additional items to an existing list; the Minister's argument has always been the absence of some organisation from an expanded list would appear be significant. However, this is one occasion on which the absence of reference to the registered social landlords—the largest providers of social housing—is an indication that the Government have misunderstood the role of registered social landlords. The omission of RSLs from the short list that includes social services means that people will draw an inference that I suspect the Minister would not like to be drawn.
Putting registered social landlords on the face of the Bill is not enough. We have to make clear the role that we want such landlords to play. It is vital that they are involved directly in drawing up the homelessness strategy required under the first part of part II. In later amendments, I will suggest that, by itself, the drawing up of a homelessness strategy is inadequate and that that such a strategy needs to be part of a wider housing strategy. For now, it is vital that we set out a firm requirement whereby registered social landlords are directly involved in the drawing up of such a strategy, be it a homelessness strategy or a wider homelessness and housing strategy, as I would prefer.
Amendment No. 65 reflects my belief that, in their actions, RSLs should have regard to or take into account the local authority homelessness strategy. I suspect that the Minister will argue that the nature and status of RSLs makes it impossible to introduce such a provision. I have taken fairly detailed advice on that matter and I am now convinced that that argument is sound and that amendment No. 65 is probably inappropriate; therefore, I shall not press it.
None the less, I hope that, rather than spend time repeating my comments, the Minister will make it clear that his Department intends to provide clear guidance to registered social landlords regarding the importance of taking local authority strategies into account wherever possible. I do not ask that they be required to act contrary to their trust deeds or whatever system they operate under, but as long as such restrictions do not apply, RSLs should take local strategies into account.
I am trying to be brief and could go into much greater detail later if the Committee required it. I hope that the broad principles of the amendments are clear. I will not speak to each amendment; I shall respond to any questions later.