Clause 11 - Use of capital receipts
Local Government Bill
8:55 am
Mr Desmond Swayne (New Forest West, Conservative)
Ah, well, I will illustrate that the principle of what Mr. Bisland said still holds good. I will refer to an asset currently possessed by New Forest district council, which falls within the terms of subsection (4)—a mobile home park worth in excess of £11 million. It seems reasonable to ask why a district council is sitting on such an asset when there is a such a shortage of affordable and social housing in the New Forest, not least because of the Minister's Whitehall-imposed policy, which prevents the district council from using its resources to acquire more housing of that nature, but rather directs it to use those resources to renovate its existing housing stock. Such a policy might be appropriate to a northern metropolitan council that has not maintained its stock over many years, but it is inappropriate to the New Forest.
I leave that matter aside, as I am sure that the Minister would not want me to go down that road.