Clause 261 - Certain family intervention tenancies: termination
Housing and Regeneration Bill
10:45 pm
Lembit Öpik (Shadow Minister (Housing), Department for Communities and Local Government; Montgomeryshire, Liberal Democrat)
Well, Mr. Gale, the Minister makes the case for the amendment, and then asks me to withdraw it. In fairness to the Government, they have shown active recognition of the link between antisocial behaviour and the social needs of perpetrators—we all agree on that. Also, Shelter has done some research to back up the effectiveness of taking a support approach, so there is no disagreement there. In terms of enforcement, communities need protection, and it is appropriate for housing providers to use measures available to them to enforce the responsibilities laid out in tenancy agreements. However, the Minister’s argument goes wrong on its non-acceptance that this approach balances the legislation against the tenant and in favour of the landlord. The FIPs are voluntary, as he says, but surely this is a significant disincentive to families taking part in the project, not least because it seems to make their tenancies less secure.