Housing and Regeneration Bill
12:00 pm
Adam Sampson: There are several. If you are asking us to narrow them down to two, the first is to include in the legislation a definition of overcrowding. Yesterday, the Minister for Housing, in a very welcome way, committed the Government to move towards the bedroom standard on overcrowding, which is the fulfilment of a promise that was made for a new standard during the passage of the Housing Act 2004. It has taken three years for the Government even to indicate what the new standard will be. We have absolutely no doubt about Ministers’ commitments to reaching a bedroom standard, but we recognise that there will inevitably be timetable issues about how quickly that standard can be embodied, as it has taken three years for the Government even to give an indication of what the new standard will be. In view of the time it has taken, we are sufficiently nervous about the historical delay to think it would be extremely helpful if the ministerial commitment given in the speech yesterday were included in legislation. Yesterday’s announcement of a review into the private rented sector means that we will not be pushing for anything further on that sector.
Secondly, I want to push for changes in the right-to-buy legislation, although my colleague may disagree. Many areas would benefit from a reduction in the maximum right-to-buy discount, in particular council housing in designated areas with less than 3,000 inhabitants should be exempted from the right to buy. There is a problem because of the almost total disappearance of council housing from small rural communities, and it would be relatively simple to stem that haemorrhage by exempting small local communities from the right to buy. I would prioritise those two measures.