Housing and Planning Bill (Thirteenth sitting)

Matthew Pennycook Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2015 Public Bill Committees

[Dr Blackman-Woods]

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point, which I hope we will discuss when we come to subsequent amendments in the group because all of them are about trying to get information from the Minister about how the scheme will work in practice for local authorities. In particular, the councils are coming forward to us to say that they are extremely concerned about the making of some arbitrary estimate—and we must understand that that is what it is, at the moment, because the Government have not given us any information on how it will be arrived at.

Milton Keynes Council, for example, has written:

“We are concerned that the Bill seeks to establish a process for taking a sum of money from councils based on a national estimate that will unlikely reflect actual local conditions. Councils, like housing associations, should be able to retain the additional income generated from these rents to build new homes.”

That is exactly the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Erith and Thamesmead was making. The council added:

“This would have far greater benefits for local communities than the money going to the Treasury.”

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an important point. Does she agree with me about the earlier point made by the hon. Member for South Norfolk? It might be a good one, in the sense that housing associations may be able to use their funds to do more innovative things to meet housing need, but that option will not be available to local authorities because they are being treated differently.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Blackman-Woods]

Absolutely; my hon. Friend makes an excellent point. If the Government were genuinely committed to increasing the number of affordable housing units in this country and increasing housing supply across all tenures, they would take the opportunity to use this income to provide additional housing, rather than squirreling it away in the Treasury—we know not where; we know not for what purpose.

[Matthew Pennycook]

We do know where, in the sense that the Government are very clear in the impact assessment that one outcome that they want is a contribution to deficit reduction. I can understand that, because they are not making a great job of it. I can understand why they would want to squirrel the money away, but does my hon. Friend not agree that, given the level of housing need and the housing crisis, it is important that all the funds, if they are to be taken away, should be directed at meeting housing need, not filling the coffers in the Treasury?

[The Chair]

I call Roberta Blackman-Woods to respond within the terms of the amendments.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Thomas]

I am very grateful for your protection, Mr Gray, from the hon. Member for South Norfolk.

My second key point is that the failure to allow local authorities to keep any of the additional rent raised further undermines the housing revenue account self-financing settlement, which was supposed to free up local government housing from central Government control, and further reduces the chance of local authorities being able to contribute new house building to address our national crisis. That settlement will be further put at risk by the rent cuts being pushed through in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill and by the forced sell-off of homes that we have discussed already.

I say gently to Government Members that I will have to be blown away by the oratory of the Minister not to want to press the matter.

[Matthew Pennycook]

My hon. Friend is making a good point about the clause that speaks to wider concerns with the Bill. On Second Reading, the right hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Nick Herbert) put it well when he said that many measures in the Bill, including this clause, cut against the grain of the Government’s laudable commitment to localism.

[Mr Thomas]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, which further illustrates the need for the Minister to be particularly convincing in his response.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 79 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 80 to 83 ordered to stand part of the Bill.