Results 1-20 of 2,699 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Baroness Andrews
- Housing: Repossession — Question (18 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I share the concern of the noble Baroness about the problem of tenants who are evicted at very short notice when, through no fault of their own, their landlord is repossessed. We announced on 13 May that we intend to legislate to provide additional protection for tenants caught in this situation and we will shortly be consulting on the details.
- Housing: Repossession — Question (18 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I have certainly seen the Shelter report, which has many of the same sort of stories about people who return home to find that the locks have been changed or who are given very little notice to find alternative accommodation. We think that this involves a small minority—about 2,000 people—but that does not make it any less unjust. The problem is that the landlord has not...
- Housing: Repossession — Question (18 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I am very interested to hear what the noble Lord has said about American practice; I did not know that. The context for this is the Rugg review, which last week published its report on the private rented sector. It recommended among other things the idea of a lighter-touch national register of every private landlord in the country. That would increase protection both for vulnerable...
- Housing: Repossession — Question (18 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I am not properly briefed on that, but my sense is that their housing benefit would be protected. This would happen through no fault of their own. If the noble Lord will forgive me, I will write to him.
- Housing: Repossession — Question (18 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I cannot pre-empt any legislative vehicle, for the reasons that the noble Baroness gave, but we will certainly find the first relevant legislation that we can. We have to consult properly because this is a complicated situation, as she will know, given her experience. Tenancy agreements are very complicated indeed. We have to work—and we are working—closely with lenders,...
- Housing: Repossession — Question (18 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I am learning a lot in the course of this Question. I am grateful to the noble Baroness for that interesting information, which should go into the consultative process. If there is some way of solving this, we need all the help that we can get.
- Housing: Repossession — Question (18 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, my best advice is that it applies to England only, but I will write to the noble Lord if I am wrong.
- Housing: Repossession — Question (18 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, those are two interesting suggestions, which I will refer to the consultative process. As for where we are with houses that are being repossessed, it is quite interesting that the CML, which suggested that there would be in the order of 75,000 repossessions this year, is phasing its figures down. In the first quarter we saw only 12,000 repossessions. That is still a significant...
- Housing: Property Purchase — Question (14 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: Since 1 April 2008, the Government have helped 3,123 purchasers to buy a MyChoiceHomeBuy property. This week, the HCA has released £126 million specifically for MyChoiceHomeBuy to help a further 3,000 households.
- Housing: Property Purchase — Question (14 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, the noble Baroness is right. This is a popular, generous scheme, for which there is a lot of demand. I have to make it clear that everyone who was interested in the MyChoiceHomeBuy scheme would have been told that they should not spend any money on surveys or solicitors, for example, until the funding was approved. Where the funding has been approved, we have released funding and...
- Housing: Property Purchase — Question (14 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: Yes, my Lords, I certainly accept that, which is why we do not renege on our ambitious target of 240,000 homes a year. We know that, no matter how difficult the current housing situation is, the demography and the demand will not change. We need to make available as much help and incentive as possible for the housebuilding industry in particular. As the noble Lord will know, we provided...
- Housing: Property Purchase — Question (14 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, the challenge that the Government have is to meet the diverse demands of the housing market. The noble Baroness is absolutely right: it is not just about home ownership but also about social rented homes. That is why we made £200 million available for unsold stock to be brought forward from developers for the housing associations. We have given £100 million to local...
- Housing: Property Purchase — Question (14 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, the MyChoice organisation involves 15 housing associations. Eight of those are members of the CHASE consortium and are equity loan providers. The housing associations are spread across the country—one in every region—and people who are interested in these sorts of products go to those housing associations, which help them through the process to see whether they are...
- Housing: Property Purchase — Question (14 May 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, the money that I spoke of—the £126 million to fund people—is now immediately available. I sympathise with the noble Lord's suggestion that there should be one pot but, as I have explained, the diversity of need makes that difficult to provide. I know that this is no substitute but, because the terminology of some of these projects overlaps—HomeBuy Direct,...
- Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]: Third Reading (29 Apr 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, this is a much shorter speaking note and my final one on this Bill. Amendments 180 to 182 are minor, technical amendments that will correct small errors that have been noticed in the drafting of Schedule 6. I am grateful to our Bill team for its usual forensic attention to detail. I beg to move. Amendment 180 agreed. Amendments 181 and 182 Moved by Baroness Andrews 181: Schedule 6,...
- Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]: Third Reading (29 Apr 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, it has been a pleasure working with Members of this House given the thoughtfulness, experience and commitment to making a better Bill that they displayed at every stage of this Bill. Members on the opposition Front Benches have been a pleasure to work with. My noble friends have been loyal and faithful, demonstrating great stamina throughout the process. I am extremely grateful for...
- Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]: Third Reading (29 Apr 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for what she has just said and the gracious way in which she said it. I have a couple of speaking notes, but I will reply in kind in due course. These four amendments take us back to some serious debates in Committee and on Report. They relate to the composition of the local authorities' leaders' boards and the detail of their working arrangements. My...
- Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]: Third Reading (29 Apr 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, the amendments that I am bringing forward in this group were the subject of debate at different stages, and your Lordships' views were made very clear. I promised during our last debate on this issue to take what was then an opposition amendment away for consideration. These amendments, therefore, address one aspect of what has become known as the Widdecombe rules—the link...
- Home Owner Mortgage Support Scheme — Question (28 Apr 2009)
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, we anticipate that home owners' mortgage support will help tens of thousands of households to avoid the threat of repossession. The scheme may cost up to £44 million over eight years, which includes the potential cost to government of guaranteeing the 80 per cent of interest deferred by borrowers who subsequently default in the guarantee period. If fewer home owners default,...
- Home Owner Mortgage Support Scheme — Question (28 Apr 2009)
Baroness Andrews: Yes, my Lords, I am happy to answer both those questions. With this scheme we are trying to help those people who have suffered an income shock and who need short term breathing space to get their finances back on track. There are few greater anxieties than the threat of losing one's home and all that goes with it such as the loss of a job, family break-up and the rest. The people who will be...