Grand Committee
(8 years, 3 months ago)
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Arrangement of Business
(8 years, 3 months ago)
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The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Henig) (Lab)
My Lords, if there is a Division in the House, the Committee will adjourn for 10 minutes.
European Union Referendum (Conduct) Regulations 2016
(8 years, 3 months ago)
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Lord Bridges of Headley
That the Grand Committee do consider the draft European Union Referendum (Conduct) Regulations 2016.
Relevant document: 24th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Lord Bridges of Headley) (Con)
My Lords, the draft conduct regulations set out the detailed framework for administration of the referendum poll and are largely procedural in nature. I would like to start by thanking members of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, which considered and approved these draft regulations on 5 February, and the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, which has also considered them and published a considered and helpful report on 11 February.
The conduct regulations specify items such as the way that ballot papers will be issued and how voting will take place in polling stations. They also specify the arrangements for absent voting at the referendum, which provide for people to vote by post or by proxy as an alternative to voting in person. They cover the arrangements for the counting of votes and declaration of results as well as the way that ballot papers and other referendum documents will be disposed of following the poll. Existing electoral offences such as double voting are also applied to the referendum by the regulations.
As noble Lords will no doubt be aware, all elections have conduct rules—they are a routine part of every British poll. We have modelled these conduct regulations on the rules that we used to administer the parliamentary voting system referendum in May 2011, which were themselves modelled on those used for UK parliamentary elections. The Parliament and Government of Gibraltar will make rules for the administration of the referendum there. In addition, minor changes to the UK rules have been required to reflect the fact that the European Union referendum will take place in Gibraltar as well as in the United Kingdom.
Noble Lords will also note that we have also taken into account changes in electoral law since the 2011 referendum as well as recommendations from the Electoral Commission. For example, in line with the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, the regulations provide for people who are queuing at the point when a polling stations closes to vote.
The conduct regulations were published in draft in July 2015 in order to give the Electoral Commission, Members of Parliament and other interested parties an opportunity to review their content and to comment. This gave electoral administrators significant notice and allowed them to begin their planning activity far in advance of the poll. The responses that we received, which were largely technical in nature, were carefully considered before the conduct regulations were finalised. I beg to move.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab)
My Lords, I say at the outset that I genuinely have no issues with the regulations before me. They are what I would expect to ensure a well-run, efficient referendum, and ensuring a well-run referendum is in everyone’s interest. We must never allow the conduct, or otherwise, of any ballot, election or referendum to become the story. However, I have a number of questions for the noble Lord, Lord Bridges of Headley, and I will go straight into them.
How will the noble Lord ensure that counting officers and their staff have sufficient resources in place to conduct this referendum properly? What plans do the Government have to impress upon the chief counting officer, the regional counting officers and the local counting officers the importance of delivering a well-run referendum and of avoiding past mistakes in elections? Do the Government intend to impress upon the chief counting officer the need to use her powers of direction at any point where she feels that confidence in the running of the ballot could be undermined by poor practice by counting officers and their staff?
We need an absolute guarantee that ballot papers for every single voter in the UK will be printed and available at the polling station—not just an estimated number that the local counting officer thinks may turn up to vote. How will the Government ensure that this happens? In the past, problems have been caused by people arriving in the last 30 minutes and not being able to vote. What specific actions will the Government be taking in this referendum to ensure that there are sufficient staff on duty at each ballot station to cope with a last-minute surge of people?
We have all cast a vote many times in the past. Let us think back: is the polling station we normally use adequate if a large number of people come in to vote? How will the Government ensure that polling stations can cope with a larger number of arrivals than normal? I know that you cannot change where the station is, but it may be that, instead of the usual smaller room, you could move to a bigger room in the school or whatever is being used.
What discussions will the Government have with the police about their role in ensuring that the referendum is free and fair? What discussions will the Government have with the police and crime commissioners to ensure a free and fair referendum?
How will the Government address the problem of a very close overall result and the calls for a full national recount that will inevitably follow? There will be local counts with a big win for one side and, frankly, all the people could have packed up and gone home. Is that something in the hands of the chief counting officer, or is there no provision for it?
When is the counting of votes going to take place? I hope the noble Lord will confirm that counting will start as quickly as possible after 10 pm. It is necessary for this to be done expeditiously, with counts starting at the same time across the UK.
Can the Minister explain the thinking of the Government on the regulated period? A 10-week regulated period would overlap with the elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament. If a seven-week regulated period was in place then the elections and the referendum would be separate, which would be much clearer for everyone.
How are the Government going to ensure that the more than 2 million British citizens living abroad are able to register and vote?
Those are the points I have at the moment, but I hope that if the Minister responds to those, he will not mind if I put other points to him later. As I have said, I have no issues with the regulations as they stand. My questions arise only from reading the documents and wanting to ensure that we have a proper referendum and that the process does not become the story.
Lord Hayward (Con)
May I ask, following on from that question, about the counting of postal votes? I noted that the Minister had a look of horror, concern or surprise—I am not sure which it was—when I came into the Room. He was fairly sure that I would ask one question or another. Under normal circumstances, postal votes are counted over a number of days and, despite the Electoral Commission’s best guidance which is being implemented by most councils, it is sometimes possible to see the results of those postal votes. Given that, in these circumstances, any leak of information will be seriously market sensitive in relation to the value of the pound and other aspects that might impact on the City and the world’s stock markets, could my noble friend say whether postal votes will be counted on the day, thereby minimising the chance of leaks in advance, or, as they normally are in other elections, over a series of days?
Lord Bridges of Headley
I thank both noble Lords who have spoken, particularly the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, who speaks with a lot of experience. I will try to answer his excellent questions. Like him, I wish to see this referendum being conducted properly, fairly and efficiently. I will answer his questions in the spirit in which he asked them.
The noble Lord asked how the Government plan to ensure that counting officers and their staff at polling stations have sufficient resources to conduct the referendum properly, and about what plans we have to impress on chief, regional and local counting officers the importance of delivering a well-run referendum and avoiding past mistakes in elections. Those are fair questions. The Electoral Commission’s planning for the referendum, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, is already well under way; a management structure of groups and the regional counting officers is in place to ensure effective planning. I am sure that the noble Lord, having himself been an electoral commissioner during the 2011 referendum, will be aware of the approach taken by the chief counting officer and her team to ensure that that poll was well-run, and I am sure that she is taking on board and learning from that experience in planning for the poll on 23 June.
A related question was how the Government intend to impress on the chief counting officer the need to use her powers of direction at any point when she might feel confidence in the running of the ballot could be undermined by poor practice by counting officers and their staff. On this point, I am also sure that the chief counting officer and her team at the Electoral Commission will be playing very close attention to the debate and to the remarks that the noble Lord has just made, and will note the legitimate concerns here. This goes without saying, but I will make the obvious point that we are in very close touch with the Electoral Commission on the operations of the poll, and government officials and I will ensure that the noble Lord’s points are flagged up with it directly.
Another related point was about ensuring that ballot papers for every single voter will be printed and available at the polling station and what the Government are doing to ensure that the polling stations are of sufficient size to cope with larger than normal numbers. As the noble Lord will know, the detail of how the polls are run is a matter for the chief counting officer. We are aware that numbers of ballot papers and the logistics of polling stations are among the delivery matters that the Electoral Commission has already considered and planned for with directions and guidance. For example, the chief counting officer has indicated that she will require ballot papers to be printed to cover 110% of the eligible electorate, to ensure that sufficient papers are available, and that contingencies will be in place.
As regards the declaration of the results, the votes will be counted overnight. The conduct rules specify that counting officers must begin counting the votes as soon as practical after polling closes at 10 pm. As well as the overall result of the referendum, which will be decided by a simple majority, separate results will be announced for each voting area and region. Separate results will be declared for each local authority as well as for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark
I live in Lewisham, which possibly will vote heavily in favour of staying in the European Union, but other places will not. Although there may be quite a large result either way, when it is all added together there might be only a few thousand votes in it. I remember that the referendum on the Welsh Assembly was very close, and I think it was the last area to declare that narrowly gave a yes vote. I am conscious that if we end up like that, with a few thousand votes in it nationally, we will have people saying, “Hang on, I want a recount”. How will that happen? Can it happen?
Lord Bridges of Headley
I will need to write on the details of that. As for the timing, the counting must begin, as I said, as soon as practical after polling closes. The results will be declared by each local authority. I will respond to the noble Lord in writing on the details.
The noble Lord raised a legitimate question as to whether, with a 10-week regulated period, we might have an overlap of the regulated periods for the referendum and for the elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly. I think he is arguing that if we had a seven-week regulated period, there would be no overlap and a clearer position for everyone. We recognise that some campaigners and political parties will wish to campaign both in the elections to the devolved legislatures and in the referendum. Existing Electoral Commission guidance explains how to split spending limits for elections and referendums. The Electoral Commission has given an undertaking to issue further guidance to explain the impact of the overlapping periods for parties and campaigners who are campaigning in both the EU referendum and the May 2016 elections.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark
I am sure the commission will give very good guidance and do it very well, but as his explanation suggests, this is quite complicated. If the periods were split, it would be very different and there would not be these problems. The Minister is absolutely right that those campaigning for elections to all the bodies he has talked about and for the in/out referendum will in many cases be the same people. That is the problem. Maybe it cannot be changed, but there is an issue there and perhaps he could look at that again and talk further to the commission. Its guidance is good, but if this stays as it is, that guidance has to be very clear and precise.
Lord Bridges of Headley
I completely accept that point and am happy to raise it will the Electoral Commission again. As I say, I very much hope that the commission will be reading this debate with considerable interest, but I am happy to raise the point.
The noble Lord asked about ensuring that British citizens living abroad are able to register in time to vote in the referendum. As the noble Lord might know, the Government have strengthened and simplified the registration process so more voters can take part in elections by registering online. It now takes less than three minutes, and you can register throughout the year wherever you are. Under IER, there is no longer a general requirement for initial applications to be attested by another British citizen resident abroad, which we believe discouraged many Britons from registering in the first place. We have also extended the electoral timetable to give overseas electors more time to cast their votes. As the noble Lord may also know, the Foreign Office’s consular network supported the Electoral Commission’s overseas voter registration day last month to promote voter registration to British citizens abroad, and I urge overseas voters to register as soon as possible, and by 6 June at the latest, in order to take part in the referendum. I think that that probably addresses the points that the noble Lord raised on overseas voters, but I am happy to go into more detail if he so wishes.
The noble Lord also raised discussions with the police, which is a matter for the chief counting officer to take forward, but another good point worth flagging, and I will do so with the Electoral Commission. Postal votes are not counted before the close of the poll, and will be counted along with all other votes after the polls close.
I commend the regulations.
National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) (Amendment) Order 2016
(8 years, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
That the Grand Committee do consider the draft National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) (Amendment) Order 2016.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)
My Lords, the instruments that we are considering make changes to the rules for the administration and conduct of elections to the National Assembly for Wales and of police and crime commissioners. In particular, they make provision for the combination of polls at Welsh Assembly and PCC elections when they are held on the same day. They also apply, for the purposes of Welsh Assembly elections, provisions in the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 and associated secondary legislation, which made a number of changes to the rules for UK parliamentary elections.
Noble Lords may be familiar with these measures, which have been considered in earlier debates on instruments which applied the measures for the conduct of other elections and referendums. Indeed, I should explain that these changes have already been made for PCC elections in a previous instrument that the Committee has considered. The background to the instruments is that we have consulted on them with the Electoral Commission and with others such as the Association of Electoral Administrators and the Welsh Government.
I turn first to the Welsh Assembly order. The Assembly order requires a poll at an Assembly election to be combined with a poll at a PCC election when both polls are held on the same day, as will happen on 5 May 2016. I should explain what is meant by a combination of polls. Where more than one poll is held on the same day, it is common for electoral law to provide for the polls to be combined and for rules to be drawn up that set out how they will be administered. Such rules are designed to ensure that the polls are run effectively and seek to minimise any risks of confusion to the electorate.
The Assembly order therefore designates the constituency returning officer at the Assembly election as the lead returning officer when an ordinary Assembly election is combined with an ordinary PCC election, and ensures that voters will cast their vote at the same polling station for both the polls, and that a different coloured ballot paper is used for each poll. Returning officers will be able to issue a single poll card to electors for all the polls, and may issue to postal voters one postal voter ballot pack with two different sets of voting papers inside, instead of separate packs for each election.
The order also updates the forms used by voters, such as poll cards and postal voting statements, to make the voting process more accessible. The revised material has been produced following a programme of public user testing and consultation with the Electoral Commission, the Association of Electoral Administrators and Scope, and discussions with electoral services suppliers. I confirm that the order includes Welsh language versions of the forms.
I highlight that the order provides for the names of candidates to appear on the ballot paper for the election of regional members. This is an important change, designed to ensure that voters are aware of the candidates standing at the election.
The order also provides for police community support officers to enter polling stations and counting venues under the same conditions as police constables. This will allow police forces additional flexibility in deploying their resources on polling day, and allow them to provide a greater visible reassurance to the public.
The order additionally provides that voters waiting in a queue at the close of poll—that is, 10 pm on polling day—for the purpose of voting may be issued with ballot papers to enable them to vote, or may return postal voting statements or postal ballot papers despite the close of poll.
The order also applies to Welsh Assembly elections measures relating to postal voting that have already been made in respect of other elections. First, the order requires that 100% of postal voting statements are checked against voter records for security purposes.
Secondly, the order enables postal votes to be issued as soon as practicable at a poll. This is to facilitate the earlier dispatch of postal votes and to give administrators the flexibility to dispatch postal votes earlier than the 11th day before the poll, which is the earliest that postal votes may be issued to many postal voters at present. This will be of particular help to people in more remote locations, including service voters, as it will give them more time to receive, complete and return their postal vote in time for it to be counted. To facilitate this, the order moves the deadline for candidates to withdraw their nomination from Assembly elections from noon on the 16th working day before the poll to 4pm on the 19th working day before the poll, and the deadline for the publication of persons nominated becomes no later than 4pm on the 18th day before the day of the election.
Thirdly, electoral registration officers will be required to inform electors after an Assembly election where their postal vote has been rejected because the signature or date of birth, which are used as postal vote identifiers, that they have supplied on the postal voting statement failed to match those held on record, or where they had simply been left blank. This is to help ensure that those electors can participate effectively in future polls and not have their ballot papers rejected at successive polls because of a signature degradation or inadvertent errors. This will help legitimate voters who submit their postal ballot packs in good faith to avoid their vote being rejected at successive polls.
In response to a recommendation from the Electoral Commission, the order increases the spending limits for candidates at Assembly elections to take into account the effects of inflation. This means that the maximum amount that a candidate standing in an Assembly constituency may spend is increased from £7,150 to £8,700, together with an additional 9p, up from 7p, for every elector in a county constituency, and an additional 6p, up from 5p, for every elector in a borough constituency.
The instrument also provides for the fee of a returning officer at an Assembly election to be reduced, following a recommendation by the Electoral Commission, in the event of inadequate performance at an election. This mirrors an equivalent provision made for UK parliamentary elections by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013.
The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2016 corrects errors that appear in the Welsh language sections of some of the forms set out in the National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) (Amendment) Order 2016. It is right that we have brought forward this further order to ensure that the forms used at the upcoming polls are correct.
Turning to the order concerning the conduct of PCC elections, as I have noted, the Welsh Assembly order requires ordinary Welsh Assembly and PCC polls to be combined when they are held on the same day. The PCC order complements the Assembly order by making equivalent provision, in relation to the rules for the conduct of PCC elections, for the combination of PCC and Assembly elections when they are held on the same day. The instrument also provides that when PCC and Assembly elections are combined, the voting areas for the purposes of the PCC election in Wales are Assembly constituencies, instead of local authority areas. This will ensure that both polls are administered on the ground using the same voting area—that is, Assembly constituencies—and by a single returning officer. The returning officer for a voting area will be the local returning officer for the PCC poll who is the constituency returning officer for the Assembly constituency.
The Electoral Commission and electoral administrators in Wales specifically requested that we align the voting areas in this way, which will assist in the effective running of the combined polls. The Electoral Commission has commented that this change reflects the view of the commission and of returning officers in Wales and avoids a potential risk to the effective administration of the election.
Noble Lords will be pleased to hear, in summary—they must have felt that I was going to be here all night—that I believe that the changes in the instruments concerning the conduct and administration of Welsh Assembly and PCC polls will help to increase voter participation and support the integrity of our electoral system, helping to ensure that the polls scheduled for May 2016 are run effectively. I beg to move.
Lord Wigley (PC)
My Lords, I apologise for missing the first two minutes, as I was in the Chamber trying to follow another devolution debate going on in parallel. I thank the noble Baroness for bringing these before the Committee. If she has not already said this in her opening remarks, will she confirm that there is unanimous backing for this in the National Assembly? I believe that to be the case—and therefore it is welcome.
I shall resist the temptation to ask her to clarify the grammatical errors in the Welsh language form, but that underlines one point—that many matters such as these should surely be devolved to the Assembly itself to handle rather than expecting Ministers with no knowledge of the Welsh language to handle it up here. Would I be correct in saying that, if the devolution Bill that is currently under consideration is passed as intended by the Government, that would put responsibility for matters such as these into the hands of the National Assembly, and therefore there would be no need to test the Minister on her detailed knowledge of the Welsh language?
Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab)
My Lords, these three regulations are being debated together, and at the outset I should say that I have no issues with the instruments before the Grand Committee today. However, I have a few points and questions for the noble Baroness, Lady Chisholm of Owlpen, and I am sure that she will be able to answer them for me.
First, in respect of the National Assembly for Wales order, I was pleased to see the addition of Article 23A, which concerns the inadequate performance of returning officers and the making of provisions for no payments. That will hopefully focus minds, but what are the Government going to do to deal with poor performance of returning officers in general? Payments can be withheld, but that is just imposing a monetary sanction; it is not actually dealing with the problem.
On Article 13, I was pleased to see that the expenses limit for candidates has been increased, as these elections were last contested five years ago and costs have increased for all candidates. Although we are not able to do it with this order, we need to get to a position whereby these allowances are automatically uprated by inflation, which would remove the need for this cumbersome process, involving officials, the Electoral Commission and everybody else.
In a similar vein, although I know that these issues are not part of these regulations, I hope that the Committee will forgive me for putting some other issues out there. The Government need to look at the whole question of recordable and reportable donations thresholds, which have not changed for well over six years and need to be uprated. Combining the polls with the PCC elections is sensible, makes for better, well-run elections, reduces costs and is helpful to both the administration of the election and voters alike.
The other matters in the order, which include allowing PCSOs to enter polling stations and making provision for people who had their postal vote rejected due to an identifier problem to be contacted to correct the problem for future elections, are very welcome.
Paragraph 7.6 of the Explanatory Memorandum refers to the work undertaken by the Law Commission to consolidate all our election law. For me, this cannot come soon enough. Election law is needlessly complex, hard to understand and contains far too many Acts, regulations and orders. A thorough rewriting would be in everyone’s interests, whether they be candidates, officials organising the elections or, most importantly, voters.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
I thank noble Lords for their contributions, and I will try to answer the points raised.
The noble Lord, Lord Wigley, raised the issue of devolution, and it is absolutely true that the Welsh Assembly will be responsible following the Bill, so noble Lords will not have to listen to me speaking here for at least 20 minutes on the subject. That is very important and will make a big difference.
The noble Lord also raised a point about the Welsh language. The Cabinet Office is looking into that further and is making sure that these mistakes do not happen in the future. It is getting together more people who can speak Welsh and can be in charge of this sort of thing, because it is not good for that to happen.
The noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, made a point about the performance of returning officers. Even though monetary sanctions are indeed very important—it draws people up short if they think they will not get the amount of money they thought they would—I agree with him that other important considerations should be taken into account. The Cabinet Office has organised two seminars for all returning officers at PCC elections in England and Wales to provide training and guidance for the delivery of the PCC elections in May. In fact, on a recommendation from the Electoral Commission, the Welsh Assembly SI provides that Welsh Ministers may reduce or withhold returning officers’ charges in the event of poor performance at the Welsh Assembly elections. This is a significant sanction, and we have no plans at this time to introduce further sanctions in the event of poor performance. Our focus will be on the guidance and training provided to the returning officers.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark
From my time as a commissioner, I remember that we had the situation where—I do not know whether returning officers are paid some money in advance—there was a complicated process of providing receipts and getting the money back. It seemed to go on for ever and was very cumbersome. Maybe we need to have the bills first and then pay the money out, but it seemed to go on for months. It was very inefficient. That went on between the commission and the returning officer. How this is funded and how money comes back needs to be looked at.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The noble Lord raises an important point. Having it that way round seems to make things more complicated, and I will certainly take that back for further discussion.
The noble Lord also raised the issue of candidates’ expenses limits. Our current policy is not to link candidates’ expenses limits to inflation so that they increase automatically in line with inflation. Of course, we have agreed to increase the limits for the Welsh Assembly elections in May following a recommendation from the Electoral Commission. As with other electoral matters, this will be the responsibility of the Assembly once the Wales Bill is passed.
The noble Lord also raised the issue of the existing thresholds for reportable donations. These have not been changed since 2010. The current thresholds apply to elections across the piece. We do not wish to make a change for a particular poll and we have no plans to change the current arrangements, although, as with other electoral matters, we will keep this under review.
We do not as a matter of course consult political parties on electoral SIs, which are often technical in nature. We keep representatives of the parliamentary parties panel informed of our work on upcoming elections at meetings held on a quarterly basis. We will draw to their attention any planned changes we think would be of particular interest to them.
Lord Wigley
Would the noble Baroness confirm that the Government do consult on this with the National Assembly? The Assembly has the facility to discuss among the parties if it so determines, even as the law stands.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
Yes, and it does so as part of its assignment of running and reporting on polls. It refers back to the Electoral Commission on how things have gone as well.
I think that that has covered all the points raised. The noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, also mentioned that it would be good to simplify election law. We all take that view, and I shall certainly take it back. I could not agree more that the staff are incredibly efficient and good at what they do. They cannot be praised highly enough.
I commend the statutory instruments to the Committee.
Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Amendment) Order 2016
(8 years, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
That the Grand Committee do consider the draft Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Amendment) Order 2016.
National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2016
(8 years, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
That the Grand Committee do consider the draft National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2016.
Pharmacy (Premises Standards, Information Obligations, etc.) Order 2016
(8 years, 3 months ago)
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Lord Prior of Brampton
That the Grand Committee do consider the draft Pharmacy (Premises Standards, Information Obligations, etc.) Order 2016.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Prior of Brampton) (Con)
My Lords, this order makes changes to the pharmacy regulators’ powers to regulate pharmacy premises. In broad terms, the intention is to remove the General Pharmaceutical Council’s duty to set standards in rules and, instead, turn them into code of practice-style obligations which are enforced through disciplinary committee procedures. The Northern Ireland regulator, the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, will have a statutory duty to set standards for registered pharmacies and the order clarifies what those standards can cover.
The order also makes changes to the regulators’ ability to issue interim suspensions from the premises register. The General Pharmaceutical Council’s powers relating to improvement notices are amended. It is enabled to publish reports of pharmacy premises inspections, there are changes to its powers to obtain information from pharmacy owners, and a correction is made to the Pharmacy Order 2010 in respect of the notification of the General Pharmaceutical Council of the death of a pharmacy professional. All the changes have been developed with the agreement of the regulators, the Government and the devolved Administrations. Since the General Pharmaceutical Council’s pharmacy premises standards may relate to the regulation of pharmacy technicians, which is a devolved matter, this order has also been laid in the Scottish Parliament.
I should give the Committee some background. All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who practise in Great Britain must be registered by the General Pharmaceutical Council. Pharmacists who practise in Northern Ireland are registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. Pharmacy technicians are not a registered healthcare profession in Northern Ireland. Unlike most other healthcare regulators, the pharmacy regulators are also responsible for the regulation of registered premises. The regulation of retail pharmacy premises is the subject of the order under debate today.
The key change for the General Pharmaceutical Council, and one of the Law Commission’s recommendations, is that it should no longer be required to set standards for registered pharmacies in rules. Instead, the standards should be aligned with other regulatory standards and be code of practice-style obligations enforced through disciplinary procedures. This supports the General Pharmaceutical Council’s approach, since its inception in 2010, to move to an outcomes-based approach to pharmacy premises regulation. Overall, it will align the legal status of registered pharmacies’ standards with the status of standards for individual registrants.
As a consequence of moving the standards out of rules, they will no longer be included in a statutory instrument that is subject to Privy Council approval. Increasing the autonomy of the General Pharmaceutical Council in this way is in line with government policy. However, the order includes an explicit requirement for the General Pharmaceutical Council to consult Scottish Ministers, as well as English and Welsh Ministers, on changes to pharmacy premises standards.
The General Pharmaceutical Council’s standard-setting powers are being extended to include associated premises; that is, premises at which activities are carried out which are integral to the provision of pharmacy services. This reflects the fact that, in some respects, the traditional model of pharmacy premises being entirely self-contained operations in which all aspects of the retail pharmacy business are carried out is, for some businesses, outdated. Integral parts of their business operations—for example, electronic data storage—may be elsewhere. Very similar changes are being made in relation to Northern Ireland.
The disqualification procedures for pharmacy owners and the procedures for removing premises from the premises register are being amended for both regulators; first, so they apply to retail pharmacy businesses owned by a pharmacist or a partnership, as well as bodies corporate; and, secondly, to clarify that the test to apply sanctions where premises standards are not met is whether or not the pharmacy owner is unfit to carry on the retail pharmacy business safely and effectively.
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)
My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord for his careful explanation of the order. On the whole, the changes seem sensible, and I note that some of them follow the Law Commission’s recommendations. As the noble Lord will know, there has been disappointment that the Government did not bring forward a Bill or a draft Bill in relation to the whole package, and I know from our previous discussions that the Government are considering what further to do in relation to the regulation of individual health professionals. Is he able to update me on where the Government are on that?
On the detail of the order, I noted that overall the consultation outcome showed a great deal of support for the proposals, although perhaps less so in respect of the change in relation to standards for registered practices, which are no longer to be placed in legislative rules. I noted that some concerns were expressed, according to the Explanatory Memorandum,
“that removing the ‘black and white’ rules could lead to unhelpful variation for employee pharmacists in the way pharmacy owners choose to meet the standards”.
I assume that the proposal for an outcomes-based approach would ensure that there will be consistency about the standards themselves but leave more discretion for individual community pharmacies to decide how to meet them. Could the noble Lord confirm that for me?
The noble Lord made a very interesting comment at the end of his speech about the rapid change in the way community pharmacy services are provided. I certainly agree with that. I am sure he is aware that an estimated 1.6 million people visit a pharmacy every day. There is no question but that they have huge potential, not just in dispensing medicines but in many of the other services that are now available in community pharmacies, for example home delivery, compliance aids and other support to help old and frail people in particular live independently. There is also no question about the strong professional advice community pharmacies can give, particularly in relation to medicine management. We know, again, that older and frailer people in particular can be prescribed individual medicines without perhaps the GP or other doctors looking at the whole impact, whereas community pharmacies, through medicine management approaches, can have a very beneficial impact. For instance, this winter, NHS flu vaccines were available for the first time through community pharmacies. Again, that shows the benefit of recognising the professional expertise they have and of trying to ensure that they can relieve some of the load on other pressurised parts of the National Health Service.
The Government have made clear in a number of publications how they value community pharmacies, so I have been puzzled by the reductions that are going to be made in the community pharmacy budget, which is the subject of an Oral Question next week. I am puzzled by the thinking behind that reduction, which I think will start in October 2016, according to a letter that the Department for Health and NHS England sent out to community pharmacies. I just wanted to ask two or three questions about this.
First, in the letter that was sent out to community pharmacists, or to their representative organisations, there was a clear implication that the Government think there are too many community pharmacies at the moment. The letter points out:
“In some parts of the country there are more pharmacies than are necessary to maintain good access. 40% of pharmacies are in a cluster where there are three or more pharmacies within ten minutes’ walk. The development of large-scale automated dispensing, such as ‘hub and spoke’ arrangements, also provides opportunities for efficiencies”.
The department is also looking at ways of online ordering, which will make it easier for the public. The letter also says it is looking at,
“steps to encourage the optimisation of prescription duration”,
which I assume means prescriptions for a lengthier period than currently.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has told me that it feels that the cut in budget is incompatible with the Government’s ambitions in relation to the contribution of community pharmacy. It wants to know whether it is government policy to see a reduction in community pharmacy premises. It would be a brave Government who said that they wanted to see that, but clearly it would be helpful to know if that is a stated intention. The development of an online pharmacy service is clearly to be encouraged. The record of community pharmacy has been very good in relation to being able to adopt a digital approach. Will that be done in a way that does not bypass the actual value of the advice that pharmacists can give to individual patients, particularly about medicine management?
Finally, on the question of increasing the length of time of a prescription, we know that a lot of medicine is wasted. Often, patients give up the course before they reach the end, even though they are recommended to take the full course. I can see that making the length of a prescription longer will mean that they will need fewer visits to the community pharmacist, thereby reducing the money going to the community pharmacist. However, if it leads to a greater waste of medicine, it might be a false economy. Has the department undertaken any work on that?
Overall, the SI itself is eminently sensible, but it cannot be considered without looking at the context of where community pharmacy is going. When we debated the Health and Social Care Bill in 2012, we discussed whether community pharmacists should be represented, as of right, on the board of a CCG. The Government resisted that, but there is evidence that because community pharmacists are not around the table at CCG level, the contribution they can make is often missed when it comes to issues such as how you make a health economy work effectively together or how you can, say, reduce pressure on A&E. We may be missing a trick here in not embracing community pharmacy rather more than we have been for the past year or two.
Lord Prior of Brampton
My Lords, I had a feeling that we might stray beyond the order, and we duly have. The noble Lord raised three broad points. The first was to request an update on the Law Commission’s report into the regulators. I do not have much to say that we have not already said. We think that a lot of what was in the Law Commission’s report was absolutely right, but it was a long and fairly prescriptive approach to the matter. We are considering it and may return to it in this Parliament, but it is not a priority in the short term.
The noble Lord referred to the outcomes-based approach and raised concern about whether the standards will be consistent. The intention is that they will, but there will be more discretion in how the outcomes are achieved. We are at one on the intent that lies behind his question.
I turn to the much more difficult matter that the noble Lord raised, which does not relate directly to the order, although he is right to say that it provides some context. The first thing to say is that I agree wholeheartedly with what he said about the vital role of pharmacists not just in dispensing but in how we manage medicines, perform vaccinations and look after the old and frail. I was interested by his comment at the end about why pharmacists are not represented on the board of CCGs. When we come to debate our whole approach to community pharmacy in more detail, we will set out our views on how pharmacy should be more integrated with the delivery of health and social care. It may well be that we should revisit whether pharmacists should be on the board of CCGs. Perhaps I can take that away to think about it further.
I do not want to be taken down the route of the number of pharmacists, because we are out to consultation at the moment. It is a fact that 46% of pharmacists are located in very close geographic proximity to each other. That is one reason why we have been looking at the structure of delivery of community pharmacy. On the one hand, we absolutely recognise that in rural areas we must have community pharmacies close by, and we want them to be much more integrated with healthcare delivery; on the other, there must be a question mark about the structure of community pharmacy. The number of outlets has grown from 9,000 to 11,500 in the past seven or eight years, which is a huge increase. Much of that increase has come from people setting up shop in very close proximity to existing pharmacies. It is right that we look at the whole delivery of healthcare by pharmacies, and it will be interesting to see what emerges from the current consultation.
State Pension (Amendment) Regulations 2016
(8 years, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Altmann
That the Grand Committee do consider the draft State Pension (Amendment) Regulations 2016
The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Altmann) (Con)
My Lords, I shall speak also to the draft Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2016. In my view, the provisions in the order and the regulations are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Together, these statutory instruments demonstrate the Government’s continuing commitment to support those who have worked hard all their lives, paid into the system and done the right thing to provide them with dignity and security in old age.
Let me first address the issue of those social security rates which are linked to the rise in prices. This includes the additional elements of the current state pension, working-age benefits, carer’s benefits and benefits which contribute to the extra costs that may arise as the result of a disability or health condition.
Last year, the relevant headline rate of inflation, the September consumer prices index, stood at -0.1%, which means that price-indexed benefits have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices. These benefit rates will therefore remain unchanged for 2016-17 and have not been included in the uprating order this year. For the same reason, the Government have not laid a draft guaranteed minimum pensions increase order.
I add that the Government intend to bring forward additional secondary legislation to adjust rates and thresholds within certain social security benefits that would usually be covered by an uprating order. These include adjustments to pensioner premiums within working-age benefits, pensioner amounts in housing benefit, the level of savings credit and non-dependent deductions. We will be laying these regulations, which will be subject to the negative procedure, before Parliament in due course.
As for those rates that are included in the uprating order, this Government continue to stand by their commitment to the triple-lock guarantee, by which the current basic state pension is uprated by the highest of earnings, prices or 2.5%. This year, the increase in average earnings has been 2.9%, more than inflation and more than 2.5%. This means that from April 2016 the rate of the basic state pension for a single person will increase by 2.9%—that is, £3.35, to £119.30 a week, the biggest real-terms increase of the basic state pension since 2001. Therefore, from April 2016 the full basic state pension will be more than £1,100 a year higher in 2016-17 compared to the start of the previous Parliament. We estimate that the basic state pension will be around 18.1% of average earnings, one of its highest levels relative to earnings for more than two decades and in contrast to the low of 15.8% which it reached in 2008-09.
This Government continue to protect the poorest pensioners. The pension credit standard minimum guarantee, the means-tested threshold below which pensioner income need not fall, will rise in line with average earnings at 2.9%, so that from April the single person threshold of this safety-net benefit will rise by £4.40 to £155.60 a week and will be the biggest real-terms increase since its introduction. Pensioner poverty now stands at one of its lowest rates since comparable records began. Despite the difficult economic decisions that we have had to take, I am pleased to say that this Government are spending an extra £2.1 billion in 2016-17 on supporting pensioners who have worked hard and done the right thing while continuing to protect the poorest pensioners.
The state pension regulations set the new state pension full rate that will apply from April 2016 at £155.65 per week, equivalent to more than £8,000 per year. This will mean that the new state pension will therefore stand at 23.6% of average earnings, and I am pleased to confirm that the triple lock will apply to this full rate for the remainder of this Parliament. Our reforms will see the complicated state pension system become clearer and fairer, providing a solid foundation on which people can build up their retirement savings. They will lift many more pensioner incomes above the basic means-tested threshold for the pension credit standard minimum guarantee.
The new state pension will see many groups better off than they would be on the current system. Around 650,000 women who reach state pension age in the first 10 years can expect to receive, on average, more than £400 a year more than under the current system. Around three-quarters of those reaching state pension age will be better off under the new system by 2030. Carers, lower-earners and self-employed people will also benefit under the reformed system. However, we are ensuring that the reforms in the new state pension cost no more than the present system.
In conclusion, these measures demonstrate the Government’s overall commitment to support current pensioners by increasing their basic state pension through the triple lock, to protect the poorest pensioners by raising their guaranteed minimum income and to reform the state pension system so that it is clearer and fairer for future pensioners. Despite the tough and difficult decisions we have had to take, the Government are rewarding pensioners who have worked hard by providing them with a secure and dignified retirement. On that basis, I beg to move.
Lord McKenzie of Luton (Lab)
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann, for her explanation of these regulations and the uprating order. I thank the Minister also for the follow-up communication dealing with some outstanding points from earlier regulations and note the efforts to be made to publicise the availability of national insurance credits for spouses and civil partners who accompany Armed Forces personnel on overseas postings.
As we have heard, the regulations set the full rate of the new state pension at £155.65. I will say more about this later. The uprating order covers the obligation under Section 150A of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 for the Secretary of State to review certain benefits and uprate by reference to earnings if they do not maintain their value. We are advised that the annual growth in average weekly earnings for the quarter ending in July 2015 was 2.9%. This is therefore applied to relevant benefits.
As far as Section 150 of that Act is concerned, we are advised that the uprating order does not need to include any benefits because these benefits have maintained their value in relation to prices, given that the CPI for the 12-month period ending in September 2015—which was available from mid-October, I think—showed a marginal negative growth rate. This seems to overlap with the benefits freeze in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, a freeze that extended for four years the previously announced two-year restriction on certain working-age benefits. The Minister will be able to confirm that not all the benefits that are not uprated in this order have been the subject of the freeze provided for in the Bill. These include—I think the Minister referred to them—attendance allowance, carer’s allowance, DLA, ESA, statutory adoption pay, statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, and PIP.
When we discussed these matters the Government made much of certain disability benefits being outside the freeze. The briefing note provided to us when we were considering the Bill—at a time when the CPI rate must have been known—nevertheless stated:
“To continue to ensure we protect the most vulnerable we are exempting benefits for pensioners, benefits relating to the additional costs of disability and care and statutory payments”.
In the event, many pensioner and disability costs are not to be uprated, for 2016-17 at least. Can the Minister tell us what assessment has been made of the appropriateness of using CPI as a measure of the additional costs incurred by those with a disability, so that the Government can be satisfied that the vulnerable are being protected?
Baroness Altmann
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, for his observations, and I would like to help set some of the record straight or clear up any confusion. He asked about what he called a “freeze”. The fact that some of the benefits are not changing is purely a reflection of the fact that they are linked to prices and prices fell. I assure him that uprating will continue as inflation picks up, so that these benefits will continue to increase in line with any rise in prices in the coming years. This is not a freeze on these particular benefits.
Lord McKenzie of Luton
It is not a freeze on these particular benefits, but they are not being uprated. How would the Minister describe that? That is the first point. On the perhaps more substantive point, which I recognise does not include the specific freeze in the Bill, what judgment have the Government made about the impact of not uprating and the extent to which CPI is relevant to the extra costs of those who claim DLA or PIP, not the generality of benefits?
Baroness Altmann
As I have said, benefits such as PIP, DLA and attendance allowance will be uprated in future years, when there is inflation, but prices have fallen over the past year. I can confirm, by the way, that SERPS, S2P and the other benefits are included in this. The official measure of inflation is CPI, and that is the measure required to be used for uprating benefits. CPI fell last year, so there is a 0.1% real-terms increase in these benefits, and as and when inflation increases in the future, these benefits will be increased to take account of the rise in prices, as is required. Earnings-linked benefits will rise in line with earnings or the triple lock, depending on the requirements of the benefit.
Lord McKenzie of Luton
I am sorry; I do not intend to get up again, unless really provoked. I think the Minister said that the benefits had to be uprated in line with CPI. If the Government judged that to be an insufficient uprating—zero, in this case—because of what had happened to the costs of those concerned, is she saying that the Government would be precluded from uprating further or beyond the zero? Are they bound by that?
Baroness Altmann
As the noble Lord is aware, the Government would have discretion to increase by more, but the judgment is that the appropriate requirement this year is that these benefits be changed in line with inflation, or slightly above the movement in prices over the past year. I reiterate that this is not a freeze. It is not part of any benefits freeze; it is purely a function of the fact that these particular benefits rise in line with the change in the price level, as measured by CPI, which is the Government’s official inflation measure. On his particular question, Section 150A of the Social Security Administration Act does not allow for inclusion of these rates in the order, so the rates that will be increased will be taken by alternative powers. There is nothing untoward or underhand in any way; it is merely a function of how the legislation is framed.
Turning to the new state pension, the noble Lord is absolutely correct: communication is very important. One of the big communication challenges we all face is the perception that if people are not getting what is called the full rate of the new state pension, they are losing out. That is a misperception, and it is important that we try to help correct and overcome that. It is important that we help people understand that the new state pension is a totally new system. The full rate will apply to those who are only in the new system, but for those who have built up state pension under the previous system—the existing system—an allowance will be made for years in which they did not pay full national insurance because they were building up a private pension with some of the rebate for national insurance they received.
Lord McKenzie of Luton
Will the Minister tell me what happens after 2030? What are the projections?
Baroness Altmann
I am coming on to that because it is important to understand that these reforms are designed to make the state pension system affordable and sustainable over the long term. We have an ageing population and an increasing number of expected future pensioners, which is good news. The proposal and the overall framework of our pension reforms, taken together, are to ensure that the state pension system is sustainable. Over the years from 2030 and certainly from the 2040s onwards, the general level of the state pension will be set at a base of around £8,000 a year in today’s money. On top of that, people will be expected to have built up a private pension under the auto-enrolment reforms. It is true that in the 2030s and mainly from the 2040s onwards, the general level of the state pension will not be as generous as it would have been if the current system had been sustained. However, the current system is not sustainable. That is expected to be combined with a better private pension to ensure adequate pension provision—indeed, better pension provision—for more pensioners in future because the state pension system will not penalise private savings in the way it currently does for those who are going to end up in the bottom half of the pensioner income distribution in later life.
The new framework, with a base level of state pension that is not earnings-linked, topped up by a good private pension that comes from auto-enrolment, with help from the employer, which will be earnings-linked, is meant to make our system more sustainable and affordable. Having said that, as the noble Lord rightly said, there will be people who will need a safety net; for example, because they do not have the full 10 years required for any state pension and so end up with no state pension, or for other reasons. They will still have access to the means-tested pension credit, but that will be set below the full rate of the new state pension to maintain the incentive.
The question about the 5p differential between the pension credit minimum guarantee and the full rate of the new state pension was relevant to this point. We are committed to ensuring that the new state pension is above the pension credit standard minimum guarantee, but it is also important to remember that the 2012-13 illustrative rate for the new state pension was £144 a week, while the pension credit standard minimum guarantee for a single person was expected to be £142.70 a week. Since then, we have increased the pension credit standard minimum guarantee by the full cash increase given to the basic state pension, so that the poorest pensioners benefit from the triple lock as well. That means that the pension credit standard minimum guarantee has grown faster than the new state pension illustrative rate.
As far as the savings credit is concerned, it is true that the savings credit maximum rate is being reduced, but this should be more than offset by the increase in the basic state pension, and the triple lock. As well as being catered for, depending on what happens to each individual element of a pensioner’s income, the fact that the maximum savings credit is falling by approximately £2 a week will be more than offset by the £4 or £3.35 increase. Our forecasts are that pensioners will, on average, still be £2 a week better off in cash terms. I am assured that there will be absolutely no cash losers from this. The expectation is that the poorest pensioners will still see an increase in their overall income.
The noble Lord also asked about the rebate savings from contracting out. It is true that the additional national insurance revenue raised by the withdrawal of the contracting-out rebate will be received by the Government. However, it will be received by the Treasury; it will not flow to the DWP. It is not expected to be spent on the state pension; otherwise, it would mean that significantly more would be spent on new, rather than existing, pensioners, which was never the intention of these reforms. It is a matter for the Treasury how it allocates the departmental funds that it raises after the removal of the rebate and how that revenue is subsequently spent.
I think that that covers the points raised, if I am not mistaken.
Lord McKenzie of Luton
I am grateful to the Minister for a very full response on most issues. Unless I missed it, I do not think she dealt with those who may have no entitlement to the equivalent of the basic state pension, or with transitional protection. We touched on those paying reduced national insurance contributions before 1977, which might be one category, but is that it? Is that all the transitional protection that will be available?
Baroness Altmann
I apologise. I thought that the noble Lord had, in a way, answered his own question by saying that there is transitional protection for those women who have paid the married women’s stamp—the reduced rate election. There is also protection for Armed Forces spouses, who will get credits in the system. It is also the case that some people might have inherited a pension from a spouse but no longer will under the new system because the new state pension will treat individuals in their own right. It is very difficult for us to predict who will become widowed. However, as the noble Lord rightly said, this will form an important part of the communications on the new state pension: to explain that in future most people—as I say, there will be exceptions for the Armed Forces and the married women’s stamp—will be treated for state pension purposes on the basis of their own record, rather than being assumed to be able to inherit or transport an entitlement from a partner.
Lord McKenzie of Luton
Just to be clear on that point, my understanding is that the Government have estimated that up to 2030 some 290,000 people will be affected by the withdrawal of that opportunity. I understand what the Minister has said about those who paid reduced national insurance contributions before 1977 and those accompanying armed services personnel, but how many of those 290,000 people does that cater for? What is the level of the transitional protection likely to be for those who paid reduced national insurance contributions before 1977?
Baroness Altmann
I do not have the breakdown, but I am happy to write to the noble Lord with whatever figures we can give him to satisfy him on that particular request. Pension credit remains for anybody who does not have sufficient income to bring them up to the £155.60, which is usually far more than the pension that one would have inherited. Under the new state pension, widows or widowers will also inherit the protected payment that their previous partners would have been able to build up under the new state pension system rules.
I thank the noble Lord for his contribution to this important debate. This Government are taking the necessary steps to protect pensioners, many of whom have worked hard all their lives and are no longer in a position to increase their income through work. Our triple lock, our protections for the poorest pensioners and our new state pension reforms mean that we will be able to provide pensioners with dignity and security in their retirement.
Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2016
(8 years, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Altmann
That the Grand Committee do consider the draft Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2016
Housing: Affordable Housing
(8 years, 3 months ago)
Grand CommitteeRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Lord Shipley
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the affordability of homes under their proposed extension to the right-to-buy scheme and their starter homes proposals.
Lord Shipley (LD)
My Lords, I am grateful for this opportunity to speak to this Question for Short Debate. I should at the outset declare my vice-presidency of the Local Government Association. This QSD was tabled three months ago, and it is fortuitous that it has come up for debate at this point because the Housing and Planning Bill is in Committee.
This QSD asks what assessment the Government have made of the affordability of homes under their proposed extension to the right-to-buy scheme and their starter homes proposals. By affordability, I mean what dictionaries tell us affordability means: people having the resources to pay for a product or service.
Of all the factors that enable people to enjoy a fulfilling life, a decent and secure home is central. Too many people do not have that and too many cannot even aspire to it. I have come to the conclusion that the Government do not actually understand that. If they did, they would be building more homes for rent. Clause 143 of the Housing and Planning Bill defines affordable housing as,
“a new dwelling in England … to be made available for people whose needs are not adequately served by the commercial housing market or … a starter home”,
within the meaning of the Bill. However, so much of the evidence we have tells us that the Government’s proposals in the Housing and Planning Bill will not help us to solve the problems of affordability or access to decent rented housing for the many people who do not earn enough to buy their own home. That is because house prices are so high and not enough new homes are going to be built over the next few years. The Government have admitted on several occasions that their plan to build 200,000 homes a year to 2021 will meet only the projected increase in the number of households over that period. In other words, the current housing crisis will remain unaddressed.
Average house prices are now £288,000 outside London and £540,000 in London, which is several times average incomes. This is not just a London problem; it is a problem right across the country and impacts on all parts of England where for so many home ownership remains a dream. House prices are predicted to rise by up to 20% in the next few years, so in no sense can these houses be deemed affordable even at the lower end of the market for the vast majority of people who are currently renting or who are living in a family home. The consequence of this policy is that there are 1.6 million people on housing waiting lists in the UK, with 9 million people living in private rented accommodation, including 1.3 million families with children.
The lack of social housing for rent and affordable houses for purchase has driven more people into the private rented sector. There are now more people living in the private rented sector than in social housing for the first time. Thirty per cent of private rented households contain children, and people in this sector pay higher rents and have much less security than other tenures.
The truth is that we are building too few homes and, with the Government depending too much on owner-occupation to the detriment of expanding the social rented sector, the aim of giving every family the stability and dignity of a decent home cannot be achieved. To stand a chance of doing so would require 300,000 extra homes to be built annually rather than the 200,000 which the Government plan. What is worse is that the Government, in producing a target figure of 1 million new homes by 2021, have not published any longer-term projections about how many houses they plan to ensure are built, nor do they tell us the net figure of new homes taking into account demolitions.
Housing is too important to rely on short-term planning. We need 300,000 new homes a year, and I wonder whether the Government have grasped that. Might they look again at creating a housing investment bank to provide long-term capital for projects? Might they look again at creating more garden cities in areas where there is local support?
Current government policy is driven by two new policies: starter homes and the right to buy housing association properties, with funding being made available by the sale of higher-value council homes. The housing announcements in the 2015 spending review included a doubling of the housing budget, which is welcome. It is not enough, but the sense of direction is right in terms of spending. The review also established that there would be 400,000 new affordable homes to buy by 2020—half would be starter homes and 135,000 Help to Buy shared ownership. I welcome that support for Help to Buy shared ownership schemes. However, the trouble is that this simply does not represent enough new homes, and there is no sign of any understanding of the need to build new homes in England for rent. In fact, we will see a reduction in the number of new homes for rent, as starter homes to buy will be built instead of them. First, councils will be required first to sell off their higher-value properties to help to fund the right to buy of housing association properties and, secondly, councils will lose rights under Section 106 agreements and the community infrastructure levy to build more homes for rent.
As we know, starter homes are new properties for first-time buyers under the age of 40, who are entitled to a 20% discount off the market price. The Government have set a target of 200,000 starter homes during this Parliament, which is expected to deliver most of their affordable housing goal. Shelter has calculated that on average in England a deposit of £40,000 and a salary of £50,000 will be necessary to afford a starter home. In London, buyers would need a deposit of £98,000 and a salary of £77,000. These are very large sums of money. Shelter has also suggested that, based on the purchase price caps of £450,000 in Greater London and £250,000 outside Greater London, starter homes will be unaffordable in 58% of local authorities to households on average income and in 98% of local authorities to households on the national living wage. What assessment have the Government done of this compelling evidence provided by Shelter?
I have concluded that, in practice, starter homes are for renters who are higher earners or who have access to private capital and that those starter homes will replace homes with affordable rent levels for those who are less well off. For those who buy a starter home, there could well be a substantial profit if, as forecast, house prices continue to rise. That is because they will be able to sell it at market value just five years after buying it. There is a very strong case for starter homes to maintain a 20% sub-market rate for much longer than five years, so the benefit of a cheaper home can be passed on to others. There is a very serious risk that starter homes will be built at the expense of traditional affordable housing for sub-market rent and shared ownership. This would worsen the availability of low-cost housing, particularly in rural areas. Starter homes should be delivered in addition to affordable housing, not in place of it.
This brings me to the right to buy for housing association tenants, which will reduce the number of affordable homes for rent, given the way in which the Government are effecting the sale. It will then make things more difficult for those on the social housing waiting list and those for whom home ownership is not within reach. The Government have made no commitment to exempt housing association properties in rural communities, but they should. As I have said, the Government’s plan would require this right to buy to be funded by councils via an annual tax, which the Government expect them to finance by selling off high-value council homes. The current right-to-buy discounts are £104,000 in London and £78,000 outside London. I understand that the National Housing Federation has calculated that the extension could cost £11.6 billion. I wonder what the Government’s assessment of that figure is as well.
The forced sale of high-value council homes will reduce the number of low-rent social homes in the places they are needed most and will make things worse for the 1.6 million people on social housing waiting lists. It will also jeopardise new housebuilding because it will reduce councils’ capacity to borrow. It will also put any new council homes that are built at immediate risk of being forcibly sold if they are deemed to be high value. Crucially, there will be even fewer homes available for larger families.
In conclusion, all of this could see homelessness return to 1980s levels. It is already increasing and the Government’s failure to build for rent and to support adequately that category of housing is likely to see homelessness rise. I wonder what assessment the Government have done of the likely increase in the number of homeless people.
Everyone deserves a decent, affordable home to live in. I regret that many people are going to be priced out of the communities in which they grew up, due to rising house prices and rents. I am deeply concerned by the present Government’s housing reforms, which will lead to fewer new affordable homes for rent and a potential breakdown in community resilience by the selling off of affordable homes with no guarantee of replacement in the same place.
Lord Beecham (Lab)
My Lords, the noble Lord deserves our thanks for securing this curtain-raiser to Committee stage of the Bill, when we will be considering the Government’s proposals. This debate provides a welcome opportunity for an initial exploration of the Government’s proposals in relation to right to buy and starter homes, which will of course be subject to much more detailed scrutiny as the Bill progresses.
Ministers trumpet their policies as making more affordable homes available for purchase for both council tenants and social housing tenants under right to buy, although for the time being housing associations will not be compelled to sell. If this Government remain in office, I believe that they will ultimately extend compulsion to that sector, as they have in the municipal sector. In addition, there is the starter homes scheme, with its attendant 20% discount, to be funded, effectively, by the sale of existing high-value council housing.
The claim is that affordable homes will therefore become available for purchase. But, as the noble Lord has implied, affordability is an elastic concept. The coalition Government drove up council rents, deeming an affordable rent to be 80% of private sector rents. But given the chronic housing shortage and the boom in buy to let, which dramatically drove up prices and rents in the private sector, the definition of affordability is fundamentally flawed. Affordability must surely relate to what the would-be owner-occupier or tenant can reasonably be expected to pay, having regard to his or her income, not an artificial comparison with the market rate.
At Second Reading the Minister told us, in true Candide fashion, that all was for the best in the best of all possible housing worlds, because the average price of starter homes for first-time buyers was £226,000—or, after the discount, £169,000. The London figure after the discount was £291,000. But of course these were 2014 figures. Already they will have increased, I suggest, by around 5%. The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, has pointed to likely future increases. Under Help to Buy, the average price was £186,000.
I pointed out at Second Reading that in Newcastle the 5,900 applicants on the council’s housing list have average earnings of £20,000 a year, which would be enough to support a mortgage of only £70,000, leaving an effectively unbridgeable gap between that and the discounted purchase price which would apply outside London. Even the national average income of £26,000 would fall short of the amount required to obtain and sustain the required mortgage—and that is at the present historically very low levels of mortgage interest rates.
Ironically, in passing, we should note that a household income of £30,000 outside London, which could be a couple on the national minimum wage, would invoke the “pay to stay” provision for council housing. So what is the Government’s definition of affordability for both house purchase and rent relative to income? The LGA quotes a report by Savills that starter homes would be out of reach for all the people in need of affordable housing in 220 council areas.
What, furthermore, will we be getting in terms of space and energy efficiency in the 200,000 starter homes, given the contrast between what has been built here in recent years and what has been built on the continent? It is a question not just of numbers but also of quality.
In all of their claimed ambitions for more new homes the Government make no mention of council housing. Is it not the Government’s intention to phase out such provision completely through the right to buy, while at the same time forcing councils to cut rents, with dire consequences for the maintenance and improvement of the stock? In Newcastle's case that amounts to a loss over time of £593 million which could have been devoted to improving the stock. What are the Government’s intentions in relation to new council housing, and what is their assessment of the impact of the proposed alteration to the planning system, including permission in principle and the emphasis on starter and so-called affordable homes?
The implications, which are dire for councils, are also dire for housing associations. Inside Housing magazine’s survey of 135 English associations found that 53% think it likely that they will seek to renegotiate existing agreements to build homes for affordable— sub-market, as they would define it—rents. Already a small scheme in my own ward has fallen through, and another has been preserved only by changing the type of housing and reducing the size of the property.
There will also be an impact on what councils can achieve under Section 106 agreements. The Government’s own figures suggest that for every 100 starter homes built, between 56 and 71 affordable council and social rented homes will not be built. This represents, over the four years of the starter homes scheme, a reduction of around 50% compared to the previous four years.
Reference was made at Second Reading to the position of supported housing and specialist housing, where the LGA—I declare my interest as a vice-president, along with my other local authority interest—is calling for Government, councils and housing associations to identify categories of properties to be exempted from the right to buy. What is the Government's response on this issue? Will the Government require housing associations to consult local councils on the exercise of right to buy in their sector, given that, for the time being, this is voluntary—not compulsory—and given the need in many areas to ensure that replacements are provided in the locality?
Last Friday the Select Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment published a report with the apt title of Building better places. It affirms that:
“We do not believe the Government can deliver the stepchange required for housing supply without taking measures to allow local authorities and housing associations each to play their full part in delivering new homes”.
The committee calls on the Government to ensure that councils are able to fulfil their potential as direct builders of new mixed-tenure housing and to review the restrictions on borrowing and the effect of social housing rent increases. It also calls for a revision of the proposal to require starter homes on every developable site, and argues that councils should have the right to prioritise long-term affordable housing over starter homes where appropriate. Will we have the Government's response to this important publication before we reach Report on the Bill? Perhaps the Minister could also tell us when we might expect to see the draft regulations through which it intends to implement so many of the provisions of this highly controversial measure.
Baroness Thornhill (LD)
My Lords, I declare my interest as a deputy chair of the Local Government Association.
I will be very brief and say that I agree with noble Lords and with much of what was said at Second Reading. There will be much more to come. I shall assume that the generic arguments have already been made—not least by the two noble Lords ahead of me—and shall confine my remarks to my main concern, which is that building starter homes instead of, not as well as, social housing will lead to a reduction in homes that are genuinely affordable. Over time—and for me this is the real crunch of the Bill, as I genuinely believe it to be short-sighted and short-term—it will undermine the precious balance of communities that is essential for cohesion and sustainability. Redefining the problem does not solve it.
Will the Government take notice of the Savills research while the Bill goes through Committee? It has already been quoted. It is fairly conclusive in saying that starter homes will be out of the reach of people in 67% of council areas.
I draw the Minister’s attention to a specific issue regarding the price cap of £250,000 outside London. In my borough of Watford, £250,000 will not buy very much. You may be lucky to get a studio flat with a “bed space”—a new concept that I had not come across until I started looking—but there are not many of them. In my home town of Preston, that would buy a decent family home. That is what worries me about the Bill: the housing market is so diverse that one size does not fit all, yet everything in the Bill appears to be centralising and standardising. Councils must be able to retain some flexibility over what is built in their areas, whereas the Bill appears to be undermining that.
That is the case not least in planning provisions in the Bill, which we have not spoken about much. It promotes significant measures reserved to the Secretary of State. This is in sharp contrast to the rhetoric we had during the coalition, with the notion of local determination and acceptance of development by local people through the neighbourhood planning process. This is a real reversal of previous rhetoric used when the current national planning framework was introduced.
We know that London is a hot spot for costs, but there are those on the outer ring of London who are also suffering high prices. Will the Government consider an outer-ring cap? There are many areas just outside London with housing shortages and high prices. Somewhere between the £250,000 and £450,000 prices might help.
There is a mixed picture on affordability, but there is little argument that those whom this policy will help—if it were stated upfront as a political aspiration, that would at least be honest—are the reasonably well-off with parents who can afford the required deposit, which in my area will be £25,000 if it is a 10% deposit. Those same people are currently renting and lament that they cannot rent at current levels and save for a deposit. Indeed, if they have that deposit and then have the mortgage for the rest, they will need a combined income of £60,000 to take on the mortgage on a 3.5 multiplier. That is considerably more than the £30,000 deemed to be, in the words of the Minister, a high salary for those who fall foul of the “pay to stay” policy. That is a huge inconsistency and discrepancy.
At this point, enter mum and dad, or even grandparents, which is positive news for those fortunate folk, but not for the many for whom this is not remotely feasible. It has been cynically said by many that this is a cash windfall to middle-class families, but in truth when people on an average wage struggle to afford the cost of a home even after a large government subsidy, the scale of the issue is truly laid bare. The starter homes programme therefore makes only some homes 20% less expensive, rather than delivering homes that are genuinely affordable and in a quantity to make the difference after decades of underfunding.
Setting affordability aside—I am sure that there will be many arguments about that—I am deeply concerned that starter homes will be the only game in town when it comes to providing the not-so-affordable homes, while the need for real affordable homes remains unabated. We should also look at the language we use around “affordable” and “social”. We need to clarify that.
The change during the Thatcher years for developers to provide social housing by what we now call Section 106 contributions has meant a year-on-year decline in the number of homes available at social rent levels. Coupled with the right to buy—whatever your political views on that policy—that change has contributed to that decline. We know that only one in 10 right-to-buy properties has been replaced by a similar home.
Much more recently, developers were given an opportunity to opt out of providing social housing by claiming to local councils that the financial viability of their scheme was at risk if they had to provide it. This has happened in many councils all over the country. They could challenge the local authority, and have been doing so. In Watford, we have had to employ specialist housing advice and support to argue those cases and fight for much-needed social housing in my area—at considerable cost, money which I would have preferred to use for housing.
If starter homes count as affordable homes, there will be no provision of social housing for rent under Section 106. The key thing is flexibility for councils to determine where, what and when, rather than starter homes being the only priority.
I will learn to time my speeches better; my apologies, colleagues.
Baroness Grender (LD)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Shipley for introducing this timely debate, and other noble Lords for indulging me by allowing me to speak in what I believe is called the gap. I shall speak very briefly about those on the sharpest end of the affordability issue, who are of course homeless people and, in particular, the single homeless. They are the ones at the end of the chain who suffer and whom we need to bear in mind as we discuss the housing Bill.
I reference Homeless Link, which undertook an extensive survey and is the umbrella body for all homelessness organisations. It found that 25% of people in some accommodation projects were ready to move on. These will typically be people aged between 18 and 25—49% of them are—and three in 10 are women. They are ready to move on, but there is no move-on accommodation available for them. Of this group, 27% have been waiting for six months or longer. Forty-eight per cent of projects overseen and surveyed by Homeless Link reported that the main barrier was a lack of suitable accommodation to move to, and 14% of those projects typically cite a lack of affordable housing as the main barrier to their clients’ moving.
Any of us who have studied housing systems elsewhere in the world—for instance, in the US—would hate to find ourselves going down the route of not having multiple tenures in a community so that communities can work together. That means that single homeless people can move into areas where there is affordable rent and some kind of move-on accommodation available to them.
I simply ask that, as we continue to discuss the Bill, we continue to bear those people in mind.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab)
My Lords, first, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, on securing this Question for Short Debate and declare an interest as a local councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham. Everyone here supports the concept of being able to buy your own home if that is what you want to do, but that must be part of a wider policy of providing homes of different tenures to meet people’s needs, underpinned by homes of good quality.
We are in the midst of a housing crisis in the UK and are considering the Housing and Planning Bill, which is a generally dreadful piece of legislation and a politically motivated attack on social housing that will do little of what the hype says it will deliver. I very much agree with the points the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, made in that respect.
The Question before the Grand Committee today is about the affordability of homes under the extension of the right-to-buy scheme and the starter home proposals. The first challenge for the Government is to make sure that their sums add up. Measures to help people own their own homes are to be welcomed, but the starter homes programme has hit a number of problems and appears to be a one-off gimmick rather than a thought-through policy that will remain in place for many years, as my noble friend Lord Beecham said. I would have hoped that the starter homes programme, a flagship policy of the Government, would enable people on modest or low incomes to own their own homes, but it plainly does not do that in its present form.
Research from Shelter, to which the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, referred, has shown that the programme will not help the majority of people on the new national living wage, which is another flagship policy of the Government. Starter homes for families earning average wages will be unaffordable in more than half of local authority areas across the country in 2020. Families on the new national living wage will be able to afford a starter home in only 2% of local authority areas. Single people on low or average wages will struggle to afford a starter home in 2020 in the majority of local authority areas. Even those on a higher than average salary will be restricted from being able to afford to buy in three-quarters of local authority areas. London, the south-east and the east have the lowest number of areas where affordable starter homes could be built under the scheme, despite being among the highest areas for demand.
There is a conflict in the scheme. Behind the hype, the reality is that it is a complete failure in helping people on modest incomes to buy their own home. Can the noble Baroness explain to the Grand Committee how this policy helps people earning the Government’s flagship living wage to own their own home? Can she further confirm for the record how the scheme is to be funded? Is it by diverting funding from other forms of affordable housing funding, such as shared ownership or social rent, with no additional funds being made available? Can she also explain why the discount is not for a much longer period or in perpetuity, to have a long-term effect in delivering the Government’s objectives?
Looking at the term “affordability” in a wider context, when sites are being considered in the green belt or on brownfield sites, what thought has been given to the provision of services such as roads, buses, shops and schools and to other infrastructure? Who will pay for all those essential requirements? Can the noble Baroness also set out her views on the desirability of having mixed tenure rather than developments all of one type of housing?
Moving on to the extension of the right to buy to housing association tenants, again, I support people being able to own their own homes, but the funding method here makes this programme of very questionable affordability for the wider community, as well as for individuals, due to rising prices. As a matter of policy, this should be funded by the Government directly, not by a smash and grab raid on so-called high-value local authority housing. There must be a duty on housing authorities carefully to consider the local housing need and make decisions accordingly. Forcing councils to sell homes and requiring them to make regular payments to fund another flagship government scheme does not seem very fair. It certainly does not seem very localist but, like the big society, localism is rarely mentioned by Ministers these days.
We must also not forget that a significant proportion of properties sold under the statutory right to buy have found their way into the private sector. In August 2015, Inside Housing published an analysis based on FOI requests, which found that 40% of ex-council homes were now in the private rented sector. That is not exactly a great achievement in terms of getting people to own their own home. It also has a detrimental effect on the housing benefit bill, which is paid for by the taxpayer.
I suggest that selling public sector housing only for it to become more expensive in the private rented sector—and of lower quality, with more people living there and with upkeep and maintenance issues—runs contrary to everything that the Government say about the dream of owning your own home. The dream of owning your own home is being thwarted by the nightmare of ever-increasing rents in the booming private rented sector, thanks to government policy which is preventing people from living in a more affordable home and saving for a deposit to own their own home, something to which the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, referred.
The scheme is another central government policy that should be funded from central government resources. Why do the Government think it is acceptable to fund these housing policies in the way they propose? How is reducing social rented sector housing, with its fairer rent levels, and increasing the private rented sector, with its soaring rents, helping individuals to own their own home? How is it helping the wider community to thrive when people are forced out of certain communities as they become unaffordable to live in for people on low or modest incomes? How does it help London, for example, to remain one of the greatest cities in the world if we create a London of two halves?
It would also be helpful if the noble Baroness could confirm who thinks up these policies and schemes— I would like to meet them. We all want to increase home ownership, and colleagues on these Benches want to help people on low and modest incomes achieve that dream. It is regrettable that nothing in the Government’s proposals suggest that they want to do the same.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in this debate, particularly the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, for securing it at what appears to be a very timely moment. I am sure waiting for three months has been worth it.
This Government have a good record on affordable housing delivery. Between 2011 and 2015, 193,000 affordable homes have been delivered in England, which exceeded our target by 23,000. The spending review announced that we will invest £8 billion to deliver a further 400,000 affordable housing starts. Councils will continue to support delivery of a range of affordable housing. A number of noble Lords brought this point up—it is not just about starter homes but about a range of different types of affordable housing. Councils are in the best position to bring forward more land for affordable housing.
I think it was the noble Lord, Lord Beecham, who brought up council housing and asked what our aspirations were for it. More council housing has been built since 2010 than in the previous 13 years, and 2014 saw the highest number of council housing starts for 23 years. However, we are clear on prioritising support for low-cost home ownership. We want current and future generations to experience the benefits of owning their own homes, and I believe our reforms are the best way to achieve this.
The right to buy has already helped 2 million families to realise their dream of owning a home. We reinvigorated it in 2012, and as a result sales have jumped from 2,600 in 2011-12 to 12,300 in 2014-15. This shows that these realistic discounts have enabled significantly more people to realise their home ownership dreams—I see my noble friend Lord Young to my right, who asked a Question earlier about housing. A question was asked in Committee about the decline in home ownership. Last week saw a report that said that, for the first time, decline had halted. Hopefully, we are on an upward trajectory.
Lord Beecham
Could the Minister tell us how many of the houses that were sold were replaced?
Baroness Williams of Trafford
I will come to the figure on replacements during my speech, if the noble Lord would bear with me.
Until now, the discounts available under right to buy have been available only to tenants in local authority properties and some former council properties. Extending these discounts to housing association tenants in England will end that unfairness and mean that up to 1.3 million more families will get a realistic chance to own their own home. Working with the National Housing Federation, we have secured a voluntary agreement with housing associations to give their tenants the opportunity to buy their own homes with an equivalent discount to the right to buy.
As set out in the voluntary agreement with the National Housing Federation, tenants of housing associations will be eligible for the equivalent discounts that are available under the right to buy of up to £77,900, or £103,900 within London. The extended right to buy will make home ownership affordable for the first time for many more housing association tenants. The Government have been clear that the sale of high-value vacant council housing—I stress vacant—will pay for the cost of compensating housing associations for the discount.
Starter homes will provide an affordable step into home ownership by offering young first-time buyers a minimum 20% discount on a new home. This model gives purchasers the benefit of immediate ownership and, importantly, will help them achieve the step up to their second home in due course. A number of noble Lords made the point about securing that discount in perpetuity. We do not want people five years down the line—or however long it is before they sell their house—to suddenly be at a disadvantage and find there is another cliff for them to overcome. We have decided not to insist on that in perpetuity discount to allow people to step up on the housing market.
We expect starter homes to be valued at below the average first-time buyer price for the local area. Developers must build them for sale to young first-time buyers and will ensure that they price them for this market. With a 20% discount, average market prices for homes bought by first-time buyers in the third quarter of 2015 could be reduced to £145,000 across England, excluding London, enabling more first-time buyers to buy their own home. We have examined affordability of starter homes to those who are currently in the private rented sector. If they were to buy in the lower quartile of the first-time buyer market, outside of London, up to 60% of households, currently renting privately, would be able to secure a mortgage on a starter home, compared with 45% who could buy a similar property at full market value.
There are a number of different points to make about the market, including saving for a deposit through a Help to Buy ISA. We are also looking at the possibility of allowing a Help to Buy equity loan to be offered on a starter home to ensure that a first-time buyer needs only a 5% deposit.
Starter homes are just one part of our package of affordable housing options. They will help to address a real problem of access to home ownership for the under-40s, the one demographic excluded from this market.
The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, asked about affordable rent. As we have discussed already under the housing Bill, £1.6 billion has been put aside for houses for affordable rent. That will be grant funded, so they are absolutely guaranteed to come on to the market. These are minimum positions for this sector, because local authorities may well do a deal with developers to produce more—and, of course, there is the £4.1 billion that we have put aside for 135,000 shared ownership houses, which will require a deposit of something like £1,400. That may be unaffordable for some people, but I think for most people it will be within the scope of what they can afford.
The noble Lord also made a point about garden cities. The Government are certainly not closed to suggestions about proposals for garden cities; they are a very good way to build a lot of houses and, in fact, to build sustainable communities within certain areas. I know of a number of areas where people are very keen to bring such proposals forward.
A number of noble Lords made the point about the £450,000 cap in London and £250,000 cap outside of London. A cap is precisely what it is—it is not an average house price. Many properties will fall well below that cap, and the Government will keep an eye out to make sure that housebuilders do not abuse that provision for first-time buyers for starter homes.
The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, made the point about the forced sale of high-value assets. The high-value assets sales will not be for occupied properties but for vacant properties at the very top of the market, and details of that will come out in due course. He also made the point about homelessness going to 1980s levels. Homelessness is at less than half of the 2004 peak, and the Government are maintaining spending centrally and locally on homelessness prevention. The noble Baroness, Lady Grender, talked about continuing to discuss this issue and bear it in mind as we go through the housing Bill. I think that the last time we had a debate on this matter, I mentioned the rough sleeping social impact bond, which we intend to bring forward. We have brought forward a homelessness SIB, which was the first in the world.
The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, also talked about replacement of property in the local area. This is what we fully expect: that a housing association will want to build in the local area.
The noble Lord, Lord Beecham, talked about 53% of housing associations renegotiating right-to-buy agreements. If that happens he will, I am sure, reiterate his words to me; we have, however, no evidence that it will. This agreement was made in good faith and the first five pilot housing associations are already starting on it. He also asked how the exemptions on the right to buy would work. We are very keen that these exemptions are negotiated and agreed locally in a form that is best for the local area.
The noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, talked about starter homes being the only game in town. They are a priority for the Government because of the demographic group that has fallen out of home ownership, but they are not the only game in town. Affordable homes for rent, shared ownership, custom build—these will all be promoted in the housing Bill. She mentioned flexibility for councils, and I totally agree—other than the duty in relation to starter homes, councils will have flexibility on what is best for their areas.
I am conscious of the time, but I had better answer the questions of the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, before I get told off again. He asked about the quality of housing. That is a very good point. Design quality will be a focus of my noble friend Lord Heseltine in estates regeneration. We are not trying to gentrify estates; we are trying to give people on regenerated estates the quality of life that they deserve.
The noble Lord also asked whether starter homes are a gimmick. They are not a gimmick. We recognise that the under-40s are being increasingly precluded from the housing market and we want to reverse that position. He rightly made the point that historically, London and the south-east have been the hardest areas for people to own their own homes. That is why we are focusing so much on providing not just one-for-one replacement, but two-for-one replacement, for people accessing their own homes in London.
Finally, the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, talked about infrastructure funding in connection with some starter home projects. Infrastructure funding can be accessed through Section 106. He is right that CIL is not applicable here, although local authorities can negotiate Section 106 infrastructure funding if it is viable—we do not want to push developments out of viability. Finally—because I have gone well over time—he talked about social rented sector rents versus private sector rents. In fact, the percentage increase in the social rented sector has got far out of kilter with the private rented sector, and we have tried to address this through the Welfare Reform Bill, although some noble Lords will not agree with that approach at all.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark
Would the Minister come back to me, perhaps in writing, with regard to people on the new national living wage, a big policy of the Government? They have no way of affording a starter home—a number of organisations have said so. How will the Government address that? The Minister also referred to the fact that, in addition to starter homes, other forms of housing would be supported. Will the Minister write to me about the sums involved?
Baroness Williams of Trafford
I will certainly write to the noble Lord about the sums of money involved. I agree that not everybody will be able to afford a starter home, which is why we have so many products we intend to bring forward. For shared ownership, which I mentioned earlier, it could be that one needs a deposit of £1,400, which would suddenly make the prospect of home ownership—even if it is part ownership —far more of a possibility. I appreciate, however, that certainly in London the housing market is very expensive.
With that I will finish because I have gone three minutes over time. I did not want to neglect the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, because I did before, but I have a load of questions I have not answered, so perhaps I could write to noble Lords.
Lord Shipley
Before the Minister sits down, can I thank her for her reply? I hope that two things will be explained in writing. The first relates to the figures quoted from the National Housing Federation, the noble Lord, Lord Beecham, Savills and Shelter. I believe those figures to be true. If the Government have had discussions with any of those organisations, or feel that other figures are correct, it would really help the Committee to know exactly the Government’s view of them. At the moment, I think all those figures are correct. If they have had discussions, could we know about them?
Secondly, will the Minister respond specifically on the issue of high-value council properties? I understand that there will be, either through regulation or perhaps in the Bill, some clarification about what “high value” actually means. I draw it to her attention that, by their very nature, larger homes tend to have a higher value and that larger homes are appropriate for larger families. Of course we understand that they will be sold only when not occupied, but if we end up with four-bedroom —or even more—properties being sold, it will help nobody.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The noble Lord makes a good point. We would not want to get rid of all the four and five-bedroom high-value assets in an authority—meaning there would be no houses of that kind—so we have definitely thought about that. As for our discussions with Savills and others, I am certainly happy to write to all noble Lords who have taken part in the debate and place a copy of the letter in the Library.