Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Main Page: Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative - Life peer)Mobile Homes Act 2013
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Excerpts
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)
My Lords, I am pleased to be answering this Question. Perhaps I may begin, as have other noble Lords, by acknowledging the tireless advocacy of the noble Lord, Lord Graham, on behalf of park home residents. I am therefore pleased that the noble Lord lent his support to the Mobile Homes Act 2013, which, as he rightly acknowledged, puts in place many of the reforms that he has campaigned and argued for over many years. I welcome the noble Lord’s acceptance that the Government have shown determination to provide protection to home owners. However, I totally agree that it does not end with the Act. The noble Lord mentioned Park Homes in Cornwall as an example of good practice. It is entirely appropriate that where we see good practice it should be shared across the country.
I should also at this juncture acknowledge the great efforts and skill of the noble Lord, Lord Best, in his navigation of the Private Member’s Bill last year. The Bill received Royal Assent on 26 March 2013 and, as the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, said, received support from all sides of the House.
Before I answer some of the specific questions that were asked, I remind the Committee that the Act puts in place measures that will enable the park home industry to develop on a sustainable footing, where site operators who run a decent and honest business can prosper while those who abuse their home owners and have no regard for health and safety will no longer be able to profiteer.
The Act is the biggest shake-up in the law relating to park homes in 30 years. It marks the Government’s commitment to providing greater protection to the rights of park home owners and ensuring that sites in which they live are safe and healthy places. However, we are not complacent and recognise that more work needs to be done to change the culture of the sector and crack down on the rogues operating in it, about whom we have heard today. To achieve this, we will continue to work with partners, the police and cross-government enforcement agencies to raise standards generally and remove criminality from the sector.
On enforcement, we are clear that there needs to be engagement with and education of site operators so that they have the opportunity to put matters right voluntarily before authorities go down the route of formal enforcement action. To that end, the department has set up a licensing working group comprising local authority practitioners, the industry trade bodies and representatives from national resident groups to look into best practice in setting licence fees and enforcement, and to provide guidance on the new licensing provisions for local authorities and site operators.
As acknowledged by the noble Lord, Lord Graham, very little professional advice was available to home owners prior to the Mobile Homes Act 2013. Since last May, we have funded the Leasehold Advisory Service—known as LEASE—to give home owners and site operators free and impartial initial advice on their rights and obligations. Our funding of LEASE, to help people understand and know their rights, is an important step in empowering home owners to stand up for their rights, which was a concern expressed by the noble Lord.
LEASE has already advised about 1,000 customers and is working to increase its outreach. Last summer, the Government also launched a leaflet campaign aimed at every park home resident in England to raise their awareness of the new law and where they could gain further information about it. In that regard, more than 180,000 leaflets were distributed and feedback has been very well received and informative. We recognise that there is also a need for better education of their obligations and responsibilities among site operators and a greater understanding and empathy from them on the rights of home owners. We will continue to work with the industry trade bodies to achieve this.
Turning to some specific questions, the noble Lords, Lord Graham and Lord Best, referred to the 10% commission paid to the site owner when a home is sold as being unfair. Indeed, it has been suggested previously that it should be abolished. It is our belief that commission is an important income strand for park home businesses, enabling them to ensure that sites are properly managed and maintained. If their commission were reduced or abolished there would be a need for a compensatory increase in pitch fees to cover the shortfall in income. As noble Lords will know, in 2006 under the previous Administration, the department consulted on the appropriate maximum rate. In 2012 the Communities and Local Government Select Committee also held an inquiry into the park home sector and considered the issue of commission. The committee recommended that the right of site owners to receive up to 10% commission from the sale of a home should remain in place. Given the balance of views and the committee’s recommendation, the Government do not see a strong case for changing the current system.
The noble Lord, Lord Best, also referred to Ministers recently saying that 10% was an important income strand. The 2013 Act introduced important provisions on site licensing, which came into force on 1 April this year. These are hugely important changes, giving local authorities for the first time powers to take enforcement action against the rogues who refuse to maintain their sites. The issue about a fit and proper person was raised by both noble Lords, Lord Best and Lord McKenzie. The Act enables the Secretary of State to introduce a fit and proper test through secondary legislation should that prove necessary. However, the position cited by the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, as set out by my noble friend Lady Hanham, has not changed thus far, and the Government are not currently committed to introducing these measures. It is important to see how important the other measures in the Act will be in delivering changes in behaviour in the sector before we introduce such a system. In some cases, that could be bureaucratic to run and could impose additional costs on all owners, good or bad. Therefore, the Government do not intend to bring forward secondary legislation until they have conducted a full review of the effectiveness of the legislation, three years after the licensing provisions in the Act have been introduced—and only then following a public consultation on the proposals.
The noble Lord, Lord Best, raised the issue of energy, and the important issue of park owners being subject to overcharging for liquid petroleum gas and unfair administration charges in connection with the supply of gas and electricity. I understand that the Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber has ruled that charges for things such as reading electricity meters and sending out bills are not eligible unless the park owners are expressly allowed to be charged under the pitch agreement. In any such case, such charges would need to be reasonable.
The Government are committed to providing a fair deal for park home owners in relation to energy charges. Noble Lords may be aware that the Department of Energy and Climate Change will shortly—I qualify shortly by saying imminently—be publishing a call for evidence around energy issues on park home sites. All I can say is: watch this space. The noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, raised several questions on deferment benefits. We have allowed local authorities time to prepare for the new regime. He also talked about the level of fees charged by local authorities. We have not monitored this, but on average fees are about £12 per pitch per annum. In terms of the specific question on how many authorities have protected sites, I shall take the liberty to write to him and other noble Lords in that regard.
Turning to the review of the Act, which was raised by the noble Lords, Lord Best and Lord McKenzie, as I have already alluded to, we will carry out a review of the effectiveness of the legislation in 2017. Although it is too early to say what the terms of the review will be in measuring effectiveness, it is likely to look at: whether poor and unacceptable practices, such as sale blocking, which has been highlighted today, have ceased; whether professionalism in the sector has improved; and whether conditions on poorly managed sites have improved. Ministers will then decide whether there is a need to introduce through the reserve powers in the Mobile Homes Act 2013 the “fit and proper” registration requirements.
The noble Lord, Lord Graham, talked about combining forces and best practice up and down the country. These are all things that the Government totally share. That resonates across the Committee, but we acknowledge that there is more work to do. We want to work with partners so that this small but very important part of the housing market can be put on a sustainable footing for the future. Let me reiterate that the Government are totally committed to improving this sector, so that those who run a professional, honest business can prosper without unfair competition from rogues, and where home owners, some of whom are vulnerable, can be assured that their rights are respected, their health and safety properly protected and that they will not suffer bullying and harassment.