Clause 34
Housing and Regeneration Bill
6:45 pm
Andrew George (St Ives, Liberal Democrat)
I shall be brief in view of the time. The clause as currently written is thin, given the Government’s commitment on climate change, the Climate Change Bill, the endorsement of Stern and everything else. All that the clause says is that the HCA “may” contribute, but it may not. There is no commitment there whatsoever.
While the objectives of the agency are worthwhile in themselves, delivering housing must take place in the context of the Government’s objectives for sustainable development. The 2005 UK sustainable development strategy, “Securing the Future”, established the goals of living within the environmental limits and providing a just society by means of a sustainable economy, good governance and sound science. Those are guiding principles that should underpin the delivery of housing and apply to all public bodies in the exercise of their functions. For example, local planning authorities must exercise their functions
“with the objective of contributing to the achievement of sustainable development”
in preparing local development documents under section 39 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
The need for sustainable development is one of the most pressing issues facing decision makers. It is highly regrettable that the HCA has not been given a strong duty to achieve that. That duty should be accompanied by guidance on how to carry it out, how it should be monitored and it should also be reported on annually in the report the HCA is required to undertake under paragraph 11 of schedule 1. I hope that the Minister will bear in mind the need to make a more robust statement on that.