Housing

Baroness Hanham Excerpts

Thursday 21st October 2010 Lords Chamber

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

My Lords, unlike housing demand, housing need relates to the incidence of particularly poor housing outcomes: overcrowding, affordability problems, homelessness and unsuitability of accommodation. Our focus in addressing housing need will devolve power to local people and stimulate private investment in new housing through measures such as the new homes bonus. In addition, we have protected many important measures for vulnerable people, including grants for supporting people, homelessness and disabled facilities grants, securing £7.6 billion in investment over the next four years.

[Lord Knight of Weymouth]

My Lords, the most basic security wanted by families in this country is a job and a home. Yesterday’s spending review is at the cost of at least 1 million jobs, but how many will also lose their homes? Government plans allow increases in rents to 80 per cent of the market rent, potentially trebling the weekly rent. This, coupled with a cap on household benefits, means families will be priced out of some areas. When will the Government bring forward a plan that we can scrutinise that shows how cutting the housing budget by 60 per cent yesterday will allow many more affordable houses to be built?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, the process for affordable housing in future will be that most of the money for housing has been passed down to local authorities, so that they will then make the decisions for themselves about how much housing is needed and at what rents. The new homes bonus will mean that where they build houses, they will get more money for that on the basis of the matching of the council tax. There will be plenty of housing built in future—probably more than was built under the previous Government. Even Andy Burnham admitted that they had not done enough.

[Lord Taylor of Goss Moor]

My Lords, I declare my interest, which is registered, as chairman of the National Housing Federation. Will the Minister explain what discussions took place with the Department for Work and Pensions so that any new tenant in the affordable homes proposed by the Government at 80 per cent of market rents can be assured that both now and in future, under the new benefits systems, they will be able to be protected by the assurance of the availability of housing benefit to cover their full rent?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, so far as I am aware, the housing benefit will continue to be paid but there will be a cap on the amount of benefit available for housing. Effectively, that will mean that some people will not be able to afford the rent that they are currently paying. We have drawn attention before in this House to the fact that there are some people in London living in accommodation that could not be afforded even by investment bankers.

[Lord Martin of Springburn]

My Lords, in most cases, the housing estates throughout the United Kingdom are excellent communities to live in because the tenants themselves run the tenants’ associations, pensioners’ clubs and community centres. If the Government are going to start offering people nothing other than temporary tenancies, that is not going to help stability in our housing communities.

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I happily endorse what the noble Lord has said about the actions of tenants’ and residents’ associations. The improvements in estates are a result of such interest being taken.

The new tenancy arrangements will of course be available to housing associations for the variation in tenure. That will not be a diktat. The tenure and affordable rents will be governed by what is required by those obtaining that accommodation. If their situation subsequently changes, discussions will take place as to whether it is correct for them to continue to use social housing, or whether they should be housed in other ways.

[Baroness Hollis of Heigham]

My Lords, on social housing, is it not the case that if you cannot find a job your HB is cut after 12 months, your rent arrears mount up, you are evicted and you become homeless? Equally, however, if you find a job with an adequate income, you are also likely to lose your home and be encouraged to move into a different form of tenure. So, fail to get a job and you are out; get a job and you are out. Is that decent?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I think it is.

[Noble Lords]

Oh!

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, when the income of some people who are living in subsidised accommodation rises after taking that accommodation, their change in circumstances needs to be taken into account.

We have just discussed housing benefit levels. As far as I can see from the proposals, nobody will be evicted. Everyone will be given an opportunity. Local housing authorities will have the responsibility to ensure that they deal with people decently and respectfully.

[Lord Skelmersdale]

My Lords, are the Government looking at the knotty subject of succession tenancy in social and local authority subsidised housing?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, the answer is yes for future tenancies, and no for existing tenancies and arrangements.

[Lord Best]

My Lords, on housing benefit, am I right in thinking that, following yesterday’s announcement in the CSR, somebody in their 30s in a one-bedroom flat who loses their job will find that if they need housing benefit they will have to leave that flat, where they might have lived for some time, and find somewhere to share with other people? That is a fairly tall order in many parts of the country. Is that the position we find ourselves in with the raising of the level for housing benefit?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I need to write to the noble Lord about that, if I may. His question is quite technical.

[A noble Lord]

Too bad.