Housing: Accessibility

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Baroness Gardner of Parkes

Wednesday 25th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

We certainly want to make sure that more and more homes are available and that more and more of them are at a standard to meet the needs of a range of people. The noble Baroness makes an important point: investment in this area saves money in the longer term. Having those national standards will ensure that developers are much more inclined to comply with this requirement in future.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that the Habinteg Housing Association, referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Best, has built homes to these standards for more than 40 years? Leonard Cheshire has done much the same. Surely we should all aim at housing that people will not be forced to leave because they are old or a bit disabled, even apart from the more special adaptations that might be required for those who are more severely disabled.

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

The more we can ensure that this is achieved the better, but we think the right approach is the way we are following, which is to have a national planning policy in place that requires local authorities to determine and plan for the needs of their local people.

Local Authorities: Local Plans

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Baroness Gardner of Parkes

Tuesday 25th February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con)]

Is the Minister aware that there is a conflict between the minerals plans that are being developed and the local plans? It is rather important, particularly in view of the previous question, which emphasised the need for housing, that the mineralogical, underground plans should be finished in time for the local authority to know that it is not going to build on top of what could be a huge local asset for the community. Having attended the mineralogical group, I think there is some problem of liaison because these two items are covered by two different departments. Can the Government liaise between these departments in such a way that the necessary first one will actually be completed first?

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

In drafting and publishing local plans for consultation, local authorities are required to produce those plans in line with Government policy with the planning policy framework. Clearly, if there is any specific matter, there are ongoing discussions on that, but I am pretty sure that the way things are working is adequate.

Housing: Leaseholder Redress Schemes

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Baroness Gardner of Parkes

Thursday 7th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress is being made in producing the necessary regulations to implement the access to redress schemes for owners of leaseholder properties established by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013; and when they expect the scheme to be fully operational.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Stowell of Beeston)]

My Lords, before answering my noble friend’s Question I should declare that I am an owner-occupier of a leasehold property.

The Government are making excellent progress. The order enabling the approval of schemes was laid on 25 October. This should be debated in Grand Committee shortly. The order, which will make it a legal requirement for agents to belong to a scheme, will be laid as soon as we are satisfied that there are sufficient approved schemes. We expect that to be early in 2014. We have also recently announced a significant package of support for tenants in the private rented sector.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con)]

My interest is declared in the register so I have not redeclared it here. I thank the Minister for that reply, which will give great hope to many of the 3 million leaseholders who have been so adversely affected in the past by the failure to have any essential repairs carried out on their properties. These people had almost given up hope and it is good to know that progress is being made. Of course, I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, for starting the whole thing going that got it into the Act in the first place.

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

I pay tribute to my noble friend for her efforts on behalf of leaseholders and join her in paying tribute to the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter. I also pay tribute to my much respected predecessor and noble friend Lady Hanham—together, they have achieved much. The requirement for managers to belong to a redress scheme will support the existing remedies by providing an alternative way of dealing with many of the day-to-day disputes that arise. I look forward to debating the orders and putting these important redress schemes in place so that all those who have felt let down until now will feel better supported in the future.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Baroness Gardner of Parkes

Wednesday 6th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness for raising this important matter. I pay tribute to her for everything that she has done to raise this issue over several years. She is right about the coroner’s Regulation 28 letter that we received following the tragic death of Mrs Kerr in Manchester. We are currently considering its recommendations, which include some of those that she has mentioned, and we will reply, as we are required to do. As to the noble Baroness’s second question, she is right to emphasise the risks to tenants in rented properties. In the wider review that I have just mentioned, we will be looking at the requirement for landlords to install carbon monoxide detectors.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con)]

My Lords, there is currently an obligation for rental properties to have a gas safety certificate every year. If the compulsory installation of carbon monoxide monitors is to be introduced, would it not be practical for those monitors to be tested at the same time, as people would then know that it had been done? Further, is it not important to indicate on the carbon monoxide monitor how long it will work satisfactorily? I have found great variation in what people tell you when they come about the gas. One will say that the battery just needs changing but another will say that the sensor stops working after a certain number of years. I noticed that whoever installed the carbon monoxide monitor in my home wrote on it the date when it will definitely need replacing.

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

My noble friend raises an interesting point. One of the new steps that the department is proposing as part of its wider review to enhance the safety of people in rented property is to ensure that they are properly equipped to ask the right questions about alarms and their longevity. Annual safety checks are about appliances and flues. The most important thing is that appliances are operating properly because, if they do so, the chance of injury or death is that much more diminished.

Housing: New-build Homes

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Baroness Gardner of Parkes

Thursday 31st October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

It is worth making the point in response to the noble Lord that, despite the Labour Government having a target of 240,000 new dwellings a year in England when they were in power, housebuilding across England and Wales under his Government fell to its lowest peacetime rate since 1924 by 2009-10. As for his point about the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, it is ensuring that people who are unable to fund the high deposit rates are able to buy property. Once you take out London and the south-east, house prices in most places around the UK are going down.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con)]

My Lords, although I welcome the Help to Buy scheme for first-time buyers, is the Minister aware that there is a great need for small units—ideally one-bedroomed units designed for people who want to leave large homes—whether they are built privately or by local authorities? It would free up a huge number of properties if more accommodation of that type was developed. Will be Government do something to encourage such development?

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

The Government’s approach is driven by need and by local communities being in charge of deciding what is built in their areas, rather than the top-down approach that has been taken in the past. During the past few years, we have been ensuring that any new development that may have been stalled but which can provide the kind of new accommodation to which my noble friend refers receives support to get that new construction under way.

Media and Creative Industries: Equality

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Baroness Gardner of Parkes

Monday 25th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

The noble Earl raises an important point about how we can ensure that people’s aspirations at school are broadened and increased to include areas which might not be most obvious to them. I certainly support that. I do not have a specific response to the noble Earl on his question, but I will see whether I can follow up in writing.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

My Lords, following the question from the noble Baroness, Lady King, I wonder if the Minister is aware that not only the young but also the old need to be cared for. Is she aware that the media, and particularly the BBC, are very short of women over 50 at the moment? Does she not think that it is time that that was brought under control a bit more?

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

As I said in response to the first question, it is important for all of us to see ourselves reflected in the media, whether that means people who come from the area that we come from or people who are of a similar age. The most important point is that the broadcasters themselves should acknowledge the issue and take action. I was certainly heartened when the last director-general of the BBC was willing to acknowledge that there was a problem and took steps to improve the situation.