Clause 38
Housing and Regeneration Bill
9:45 am
Grant Shapps (Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government; Welwyn Hatfield, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 6, in clause 38, page 17, line 25, leave out ‘as it considers appropriate’ and insert
‘before making such a determination’.
The amendment is intended to clarify some vague wording in the clause. Its purpose is to ensure that the HCA must consult bodies representing the interests of registered providers of social housing before making a determination. On page 17, clause 38(2) states:
“Before making a determination, the HCA must consult...
(b) such other persons as it considers appropriate.”
The other day we debated who “other persons” might be. It was unclear at the time, but the Minister kindly gave some clarification later in the day. “Other persons” seemed to include people other than those whom I had suggested would be included, so I would be interested to know which “other people” subsection (2)(b) refers to.
The amendment would leave out the words “as it considers appropriate” and insert
“before making such a determination”,
to remove the vagueness of the wording and tighten up the fact that there should be more specific consultation before determination under clauses 36 and 37. Who are envisaged as “other persons” in that context, and will the Minister consider tightening up the language to ensure that specific consultation must take place?