Written evidence to be reported to the House
Housing and Regeneration Bill
4:15 pm
Lyn Brown (PPS (Rt Hon John Denham, Secretary of State), Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills; West Ham, Labour)
I was interested in boards, not regulators, and I am obviously interested in the tenants. I could go into numerous cases in which I have seen housing associations behave in what I believe to be an appalling way towards my constituents. I have no levers to use against them and, more importantly, neither do my tenants. They cannot run against them at a local election, they cannot vote against them, they do not have any power to wield against an offending housing association.
On Second Reading there was a fabulous speech by my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, South and Finsbury, in which she talked about the rats, and the lack of heating and hot water for young mums as well as elderly tenants. I am interested in taking that idea a little further, because for me, it is public money, public service, public accountability. I am interested to hear your response.