Written evidence to be reported to the House
Housing and Regeneration Bill
4:15 pm
Grant Shapps (Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government; Welwyn Hatfield, Conservative)
Thank you for that introduction, Mr. Orr. I want to pick up on a couple of points. You mentioned welcoming the Homes and Communities Agency. A concern with the Bill that has struck many of us is that the highest price will be the required criterion for whether a piece of land is sold. Many of us feel that the public good might require more than simply a judgment on the highest price; I believe that the Government may be looking at this again. I would be interested to draw you on that point.
If I may get two points in in one go, there has previously been talk of lessening the red tape for good or excellent housing associations. That is not forthcoming in the 208 clauses of the Bill. Is it something that you had hoped to see, and, out of the 1,200 housing associations, what proportion do you think might have benefited from such legislation?