Housing and Planning Bill
Debate between Baroness Lister of Burtersett and Lord Bishop of Peterborough
Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab)
My Lords, I rise to speak to Amendment 80ZB in my name and that of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, for whose support I am grateful, although I know he is unable to be in his place today. I do so in the context of my opposition to Clause 113 and Schedule 7, which is partly for the reasons so eloquently stated by the noble Lord, Lord Kerslake. I have argued before that this measure will destroy the security that is so important to families with children, disabled people and carers, people with mental health problems and those who have experienced homelessness. Ministers constantly tell us that this is what this Government are all about.
The amendment would exempt those who give up an old-style secure tenancy because of domestic violence. The great majority of these will be women. Incidentally, I still have not received an equality impact assessment for this clause, despite a further request. I will not repeat the full case. In Committee, the Minister said that she fully appreciated the intention behind this amendment. She promised that:
“In developing the regulations that determine when a local authority may grant existing lifetime tenants a further lifetime tenancy when they move home, we will give very careful consideration to whether this should include those who are moving home to escape violence or intimidation of any kind”.—[Official Report, 14/3/16; col.1715.]
Welcome as that was, I want to press the Minister on two points. I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Williams of Trafford, for the constructive meeting we had on this issue.
First, I hope that the Minister is now in a position to tell us whether the Government will include this group in the regulations. What possible argument could there be against excluding women who might otherwise be trapped in domestic violence and abuse, thereby undermining the Government’s welcome strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, when research already shows that insecure housing can have a devastating impact on women and children in this situation? I emphasise that such regulation should not cover just victims of domestic violence who move home but also situations where a joint tenancy is ended and a new sole tenancy granted in the name of the victim.
Secondly, as I argued in Committee, it is not sufficient to give local authorities a permissive power, because the experience of their treatment of women who flee domestic violence suggests that they cannot always be trusted to use it when they should do so. Since Committee, a further study by Solace Women’s Aid found that over two-fifths of those presenting to local authority housing services reported that they found them unhelpful. Many described housing officers as unsympathetic, uninterested and disbelieving. There was considerable inconsistency in how they were rehoused. It is not good enough to put a discretionary power in the hands of officials who too often do not appear to understand domestic violence. If a domestic violence victim contemplating giving up a secure tenancy does not know whether a local authority will grant her a new secure tenancy, she could decide that the uncertainty and risk associated with doing so is just too great. If it is not possible to leave out the offending clauses entirely, at the very least women in this situation should be given the certainty that a clear right to a further lifetime tenancy would provide. Anything less risks undermining the Government’s commitment to tackling violence against women and girls.
The Lord Bishop of Peterborough
My Lords, my brother bishop, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, as we have heard, is unable to be here. He has asked me to speak to Amendment 80ZB and I very gladly do so.
It is so important not only for women who may have been abused but for their children, who may have often witnessed abuse or been similarly abused, that they should have security. This is about children’s well-being and their development into stable and secure adults. Under the current proposal, if a woman who is being abused leaves the home, she will lose the secure tenancy. Unless discretion is brought in under regulations, the only option will be an unsecured tenancy, which is the worst thing possible for the children as well as the mother.
It seems completely self-evident that it should be written in that there should be no discretion, and that women who have to leave their home for reasons of violence against them or their children should be allowed to move to another secure tenancy.