Clause 126
Localism Bill
3:30 pm

Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View, Labour)

I beg to move amendment 255, in clause 126, page 113, line 16, leave out subsection (2) and insert—

Hugh Bayley (York Central, Labour)

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: amendment 256, in clause 126, page 113, line 23, leave out subsection (5) and insert—

Amendment 257, in clause 126, page 113, line 33, at end insert—

Amendment 258, in clause 127, page 114, leave out lines 1 to 4 and insert

Amendment 259, in clause 127, page 114, line 18, at end insert—

Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View, Labour)

This chapter of the Bill is in many ways extremely contentious, given that it relates to the reform of social housing, on which there are fundamental differences between the Conservative and Liberal parties in government, and the Labour party. However, before we come to the meat of the chapter, which is on security of tenure, we will consider the tenancy strategy clauses. They make up a relatively small set of provisions—they take up fewer than two pages in the Bill—but they have the potential to make a significant impact to the way in which registered providers of social housing interact with authorities, tenants and the wider public. They also include the additional powers that Ministers seeks to award the Secretary of State, who is accruing such powers at quite a pace as we move through the Bill.

Although we disagree with the Government on much of what we have already debated on housing, and we will disagree on areas that we are yet to cover, we have no objections in principle to tenancy strategies. I hope that that, at least, will bring a smile to the Minister’s face. However—there is always a however—although we do not have an issue with the concept of the strategies and feel that they have the potential to be a positive addition to the local housing frameworks, we have concerns about the Bill’s drafting and the implications of some of the measures. Our amendments would strengthen as well as clarify aspects of how strategies will work and interact with the public, registered providers of social housing and the private rented sector, and how they fit together with other strategies relating to homelessness or housing.

It might seem at first that amendment 255 proposes a minor change to subsection (2), but I believe that that change is absolutely necessary for the smooth running of the tenancy strategy regime. Subsection (2) states:

“The tenancy strategy must summarise…policies or explain where they may be found.”

The wording does not appear to be too controversial, but we have received representations from the housing sector and particularly the National Housing Federation—I am sure that the matter has also been raised with Ministers. The Bill appears to require the local housing authority to summarise the policies of registered providers within the local housing authority area, but the problem that arises is one of interpretation. In summarising the policies of another provider, the local housing authority might miss out on nuance or detail, so perhaps quite complex legal issues could be skirted over or omitted as part of the summarising process.

While it would be useful to have all policies available in one place, we are worried that the Bill grants local housing authorities the power to interpret the policies of registered providers in a way that might misrepresent those policies.

In an urban area covered by a number of local authorities, such as London or Manchester, local authority borders can cut through communities and housing developments owned and run by registered landlords. However, we could find that Wandsworth, Merton, Lambeth and Southwark—all boroughs in a small geographical area—interpret one provider’s policies entirely differently. What potential would there then be for legal action against any of those authorities for misrepresenting those policies, or against the registered provider for failing to meet the policies that people seeking housing had been led to believe were demanded in a statutorily commanded document—the tenancy strategy? We could face the prospect of a seemingly positive and innocuous provision putting the entire policy under threat and changing it from a positive development to something burdensome and legally difficult. I will be interested to hear what legal advice the Minister was given on this point, what representations he received, and why his colleagues decided to press ahead with the wording.

Amendment 255 would resolve the problem. It would still require policies to be signposted to individuals seeking housing, or indeed anyone simply wishing to know the different policies adhered to by the various providers, but would remove the ability of local authorities to present those policies in their own words and thus the possibility of misleading information or misrepresentation. Subsection (2), as amended, would state:

“The tenancy strategy must refer to the policies of registered providers and explain where details of those policies can be found.”

That would preserve the intention of the subsection, which we welcome, but remove, we hope—the Minister’s parliamentary draftsmen may well disagree—the point of real concern.

Amendment 256 deals with another concern about the impact of the clause’s wording. It would remove subsection (5), which allows for review, replacement or amendment of a tenancy review as and when the local authority believes that to be worth while. I appreciate that it might seem perverse that we would wish to restrict that ability, but I assure the Committee that we have no desire to tie the hands of local government. The amendment was tabled as an attempt to ensure stability and to make sure that tenancy strategies could not be completely rewritten by a local authority at a frequency that could cause real issues.

Gavin Barwell (Croydon Central, Conservative)

I think that the hon. Lady’s local authority elects all out every four years, but just to the north of her, for example, West Devon district council elects by thirds. It is perfectly possible for an authority to change hands and then change hands again a couple of years later. Does not she think that it would be completely wrong to bind a new administration into a policy in the way she proposes?

Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View, Labour)

If the hon. Gentleman will bear with me, I shall go through that exact scenario. His argument cuts all sorts of ways.

My concern, which has been raised with me by registered providers of social housing, is that in local authorities elected by thirds, in which there can be swings between different political parties and different groups in control,  we could see a different tenancy strategy every year. From a lender’s perspective, that would be destabilising and a cause for concern. Any of those factors might affect the revenue stream or the way in which provision is offered in a particular area. Whether the change came in four years or one year later, I would not want a Labour council to be restricted from reversing a tenancy strategy that it did not like, but continuity and stability in the system are necessary, because certainty is important for lenders. We must put our political concerns aside, because developers and social housing providers will not want to build their homes on shifting sands.

I want tenancy strategies to reflect the will of the local population, as expressed through the ballot box. While we do not wish to remove the ability to review, amend or replace the strategy regularly, we want to put in place some form of calm. We felt that a period of four years was sensible. That would not deter changes from being made in the interim, but such changes should be to correct errors in strategies, which is familiar under other aspects of legislation. Our proposal reflects the normal electoral timetable of four years. We accept that some authorities are elected by thirds, but we do not want strategies to be amended year after year in such places, thus creating flux in the system.

Amendment 257 is similar to an amendment to an earlier clause tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Worsley and Eccles South. Subsection (7) requires that the strategy should be available for purchase and for review in the authority’s office. The amendment would introduce the additional requirement that it should be published online for ease of access and better transparency. I do not think that such a proposal is especially contentious, but the Minister might feel otherwise.

Amendments 258 and 259 have been tabled to clause 127. Amendment 258 returns, I am afraid, to the point that we have made already—and that we will undoubtedly continue to make—about the need to consult in advance of bringing forward new rules, regulations and legislation. The clause calls for local housing authorities to draft a strategy and then send a copy to the registered provider of social housing, allowing them a reasonable period of time for comment. That is the wrong way round. We would like not only the providers of social housing but the people who will live in that housing and the wider community to be involved in preparing the draft strategy. It is better to be as inclusive and as consultative as possible as early as possible when drafting tenancy strategies. Amendment 258 would therefore require local housing authorities, in advance of producing a draft strategy, to

“consult for a period of not fewer than 12 weeks on the proposed strategy or modifications to the strategy with…every private registered provider of social housing for its district…landlords”—

I am sure that the Minister will say that that is a bit too broad and should read “landlord organisations”—

“within the private rented sector for its district…existing tenants in social housing within the district…members of the public…neighbouring local authorities…other such organisations and persons as the authority considers appropriate.”

The list is purposefully broad. With the exception of providers of social housing within the district, those on the list are not otherwise mentioned in clause 127. I am not sure why Ministers felt that it would be appropriate to draw up such strategies without involving the public,  tenants or others in the sector, so I would be interested to hear their reasons. Their logic might be perfectly plausible, but we would welcome knowing what it is.

I am also not sure why Ministers do not want local authorities to consult one another on the policies that they expect to promote as part of their tenancy strategy. Given the duty to co-operate and everything else, it would make sense for each local authority to have a view on neighbouring tenancy strategies. To return to my earlier point about areas where local authorities are tightly packed together—mostly in cities— if there is no proper consultation among local authorities, there is a risk that people will simply abandon one local authority for another whose policies they believe suit their needs better. Requiring local authorities to consult each other is imperative to ensure that the strategies are sympathetic and do not cut across each other.

Andrew Stunell (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government; Hazel Grove, Liberal Democrat)

I welcome the hon. Lady’s agreement that tenancy strategies are a good idea and the fact that the Opposition broadly support their introduction.

Clause 126 places a new duty on local housing authorities to publish a tenancy strategy, which is designed to set out in high-level terms the matters to which all the different registered providers of social housing in an area should have regard when framing their tenancy policies. We want social landlords to have substantial freedom to decide what types of tenancy to provide to avoid creating unnecessary bureaucratic structures. On the other hand, we think it is important that local policies on tenure should be developed collaboratively and transparently. The tenancy strategy provides the framework and starting point for that process.

We do not think that the strategy needs to be a long or detailed document. It should set out broad objectives to which the policies of individual providers of social housing should have regard. For instance, it might establish objectives involving promoting work incentives, reducing overcrowding or preventing homelessness. Tenancy strategies will not contain detailed information about what sorts of tenancy landlords might choose to grant, or the basis on which tenancies may or may not be reissued. That will be found in tenancy policies, which the new tenancy standard will require every registered provider to prepare and publish.

In other words, the strategy will be a high-level, borough-wide document, but the tenancy policy will be in the ownership of each registered provider. Social landlords in a single local authority area might have a range of different tenancy policies. The requirement to have regard to the tenancy strategy means that those tenancy policies will be developed within an overarching framework that takes account of local housing needs and circumstances.

I hope that my brief introduction has helped to dissipate the assumptions of Labour Members about the nature of the strategy that some of the amendments imply. It is not tenancy policies that will be drawn into a big, comprehensive document, but the tenancy strategy covering the local authority area. We want that to happen freely. We are aware that some registered providers think that the measures might result in a top-down process at borough level, but that is certainly not how we have framed the provisions.

Amendment 255 is not necessary because clause 126 strikes the right balance between encouraging local authorities and private registered providers to work together, and recognising that individual landlords are best placed to make decisions about the use of their own stock. I note that a number of registered landlords provide specialist accommodation of one sort or another, and that is often the unique selling point of their business. By requiring a tenancy strategy to refer to the policies of registered providers, the amendment appears to be an attempt to achieve a much closer relationship between the local authority and the private registered providers than we intend. It is difficult to see what the amendment would add to subsection (2) in practice.

Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View, Labour)

I am grateful for the explanation that the Minister is giving, but as the clause is drafted, it appears that the need to summarise the policies will create work for the local authority, but that could be avoided if all it did was simply signpost people directly to the individual providers through its website or through another route. That would save the local authority work.

Andrew Stunell (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government; Hazel Grove, Liberal Democrat)

I will certainly reflect on that point, which might be something for us to examine at a later stage. Our intention is to draw together the threads of different providers that serve a population to ensure that we get the best fit possible between the provision and needs of that locality. At the moment, that process is left perhaps not to chance, but to individual assessments by different providers that do not necessarily work to a common framework, and we aim to provide that overarching framework through the tenancy strategies. I think that the hon. Lady is suggesting that the council should, in effect, hold a library of different policies rather than exercising any kind of editorial role, but we are clear that some editorial action may be needed. However, we will give further consideration to the interesting point that she raises.

Amendment 256 would introduce what I understand to be a four-year rule. I understand that the hon. Lady is suggesting that tenancy strategies should not be completely ripped up every six minutes, or indeed at every council meeting, as might happen in the worst case. Local authorities have a mature view about how their housing should be provided in their areas. Of course, there can be sharp political or policy differences, and dramatic changes in a community’s circumstances might mean that new strategies need to evolve. However, housing is not like a bus route that can be changed one week and changed back the next—[Interruption.] Perhaps I was a bit optimistic by talking about changing a bus route, as hon. Members are quite rightly suggesting. My analogy may not have been right, but the principle is.

Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View, Labour)

I understand where the Minister is coming from. Most local authorities—and certainly housing authorities—would be responsible and therefore would not want to chop and change things, or tear them up, every five minutes. However, some authorities throughout the country involve incredibly acrimonious relationships, with a huge ideological divide, so views on the management and delivery of housing can be quite significant, for good or ill. A British National party-led council might have very strong views about how and to whom provision should be made. There  could also be disruption in the system when a council is elected by thirds. We are simply trying to ensure that that possibility is avoided.

Andrew Stunell (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government; Hazel Grove, Liberal Democrat)

I will certainly consider the point that the hon. Lady raises, but practical problems would arise if we entrenched her suggestion in primary legislation because it would not provide the required flexibility. Let me cite one situation that might arise: there could be a court judgment suggesting that a particular aspect of the strategy was unlawful or needing amending—perhaps the hon. Lady’s example of the BNP would apply in such a case. Under the four-year rule proposed in the amendment, the council would be bound by primary legislation and therefore unable to comply with the judgment, so there would be problems on the grounds of practicality. We will need to reflect on several of the hon. Lady’s points to determine whether we have the optimum process, but the amendment is not an attractive proposition.

Nick Raynsford (Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)

May I reinforce the point about the possible difficulty for lenders if chopping and changing housing association tenancy arrangements for a particular area was on the cards? We have heard that the hon. Member for Croydon Central spent some time as an adviser to David Curry, so he will recall an embarrassing moment during the passage of the Bill that became the Housing Act 1996. Mr Curry, the then Minister, had to withdraw a series of clauses because the lenders had essentially said that they would take their money away and would not lend to housing associations if those provisions remained in the Bill. The position under this Bill is nowhere near as extreme, but the lesson is important. I hope that the Minister will talk to the hon. Member for Croydon Central about the risk of the Bill damaging investment in social housing.

Andrew Stunell (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government; Hazel Grove, Liberal Democrat)

I certainly accept the underlying point that there must be a strategy that enables growth in the social and affordable housing sector, and every local authority will surely have that at the top of its working agenda for future action. When I talk to local authorities throughout the country, I find that they are constantly concerned that they have not been able to invest in social housing as they would have wished. Obviously, there can sometimes be a political edge in respect of the way in which authorities feel that hindered by central Government, but I do not think that local authorities lack any willingness to have tenancy strategies that encourage providers in their areas to do exactly that—to provide.

The right hon. Gentleman makes an interesting point about how we might ensure that there are safeguards. That goes beyond what is in the Bill, but I will encompass  his points when we reflect on those issues. As he rightly says, the last thing that we want is a system that hinders the precise objective that both he and I want.

Amendment 258 would ensure that local authorities consult, but such a provision is already in the Bill. The amendment has been tabled to clause 127, which details a procedure for preparing a strategy. In particular, the clause sets out an obligation to consult housing associations that have stock in the area, and it states that there must be “a reasonable opportunity” to comment before the draft is adopted. One problem with providing a specific list of people to be consulted is that if somebody has been left out, it becomes more difficult to include them. The current wording means that local authorities will consult others who have an interest—notably, that includes tenants—and given that there is already a statutory duty requiring tenants to be consulted on housing management matters, it is clear that they will be included. There is the option of including a list of persons to consult, but building that in at this stage seems unnecessarily complex.

Amendment 259 would require local authorities to conduct an assessment of the needs of those in residential accommodation and to consider that when preparing their tenancy strategy. That, however, is only one of a number of important considerations that authorities should have, and we do not see the need to place the requirement in primary legislation. We will consider the tenancy standard, which the regulator will be preparing, when we get to clause 128. However, for the purposes of this amendment, I should say that we will require landlords’ tenancy policies to take account of the needs of the most vulnerable, who will clearly include those in residential accommodation. With those words of explanation, and perhaps of some comfort, I hope that the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View will not press her amendments to a Division.

Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View, Labour)

I shall be brief because I realise that hon. Members are itching to get back to their constituencies.

I am grateful that the Minister is willing to consider some of the Opposition’s proposals. Unfortunately, I did not speak to amendment 259 during my speech, and I shall not do so now because the Minister responded to my points about it in part. He has reassured me that local authorities will have to have regard to the means of residents who require support as a result of age, illness or disability. On that basis, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.