Housing and Regeneration Bill
12:00 pm
Roger Gale (North Thanet, Conservative)
Order. For the benefit of those beyond the Bar and outside the Committee Room, I need to set down the ground rules again. First, welcome and thank you for joining us this afternoon. Slightly discourteously, we remain seated, because if we do not, we are off the microphones and not only Hansard but those listening on the webcast cannot hear us, so if you would be kind enough to remain seated, as I am, that would be helpful. Secondly, owing to the programme motion, by which we are bound, the evidence session has to finish at 1.45 pm—mid-sentence or no. That may seem extraordinarily rude—it probably is—but that is the way it works.
We welcome this afternoon Adam Sampson, the chief executive of Shelter, and Caroline Davey, deputy director of community policy and campaigns at Shelter. The Chairman does not normally involve himself in the proceedings, but I shall ask whether either of you would like to make a brief—I emphasise brief—opening statement before we go into the line of questioning from our parliamentary colleagues. The Floor is yours.