Stephen Williams
Main Page: Stephen Williams (Liberal Democrat - Bristol West)
Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Con)
2. What progress he has made on improving the planning protection afforded to valued and profitable pubs.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)
We have made it clear through the national planning policy framework that local planning policies and decisions should guard against the unnecessary loss of valued community facilities, such as pubs.
Jack Lopresti
I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Does he agree that designating a local pub as a community asset is an important way of protecting it against being sold off?
Stephen Williams
Yes, I do. I strongly encourage all hon. Members across the House to engage with their local communities, and perhaps with the Campaign for Real Ale, to see what pubs need protection and to get that protection in place before there is a danger of them being sold off.
Mr Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)
My local borough has lost 15% of its traditional pubs over the past five years, so what is the Minister actually doing about this, or does he agree with his Conservative colleagues that the loss of pubs to luxury apartments and Tesco Metro stores is just the market at work?
Stephen Williams
I have not heard any Liberal Democrat or Conservative coalition colleagues say that they think that the loss of community pubs is a good thing. In fact, I have heard them say exactly the opposite. That is why we put those provisions in place under the Localism Act 2011, and we all strongly encourage our constituents to take them up. I am pleased that today a new community rights alliance has been set up, comprising CAMRA, Supporters Direct, the Theatres Trust and a variety of civic organisations, precisely to encourage communities to take up those rights and safeguard the assets that are important to them.
George Hollingbery (Meon Valley) (Con)
18. Given the Minister’s thoughts about the community right to bid, will he congratulate Rob Stark and his team at the Fox and Hounds pub in Denmead in my constituency? They took on a local developer, bought out the site, raised £200,000 from local people and now own the pub.
Stephen Williams
I am pleased to join my hon. Friend in congratulating those who now own the pub in Denmead in his constituency of Meon Valley. Not only did they use the community right to bid to protect the pub; they also used a community share issue, another initiative being encouraged by the Government. In that way, communities can not only protect their assets but have a means of raising the funds to give practical application to that right.
Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)
I am glad that MPs from the Bristol area are taking such an interest in the future of pubs and the impact of their closure; I do not need to tell the Minister about the effect of the many pub closures across Bristol. What effect does he think the changes to permitted development rights will have on pubs in his area and mine?
Stephen Williams
At the moment, councils can use an article 4 direction to suspend the permitted development rights within the broad A class; perhaps the hon. Lady and I could encourage the mayor and planning committee of Bristol to have a look at that and also consider the issue of betting shops, for example, which we do not want to spread.
Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con)
3. How much funding his Department is providing to help freeze council tax.
Mr Nick Raynsford (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)
8. What representations he has received in support of the case for making the installation of smoke alarms mandatory in all privately rented accommodation. [R]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)
Representations have been received from a range of organisations, including the Chief Fire Officers Association. We recently published a discussion paper on property conditions in the sector, which invites views on whether smoke alarms should be mandatory in privately rented accommodation. The deadline for comments is 28 March.
Mr Raynsford
I first draw attention to my interest that is declared in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
Given the overwhelming evidence that smoke alarms save lives and given that the cost of installing a smoke alarm with a 10-year battery is between only £15 and £20, will the Minister stop hiding behind the regulatory burden excuse that is all over the consultation paper to which he referred and accept that we need the mandatory installation of smoke alarms in private rented housing as soon as possible?
Stephen Williams
I assure the right hon. Gentleman that I am not hiding behind anything. A consultation is happening and the deadline for comments is just 25 days away, so I think that we can wait until then. He is right that there has been a dramatic fall in the number of deaths in the home as a result of fire. It is at its lowest level since records began.
Alistair Burt (North East Bedfordshire) (Con)
On Christmas day in 1984 in my former constituency of Bury North, nine people, including four children, were killed in a house fire on Massey street due to the combination of a lit cigarette, somebody falling asleep, the presence of foam-filled furniture and there being no smoke alarm. Does my hon. Friend agree that, no matter what great advances there have been in fire safety over the years, every time a family go to sleep without a smoke alarm, they are at risk? There is no reason not to pursue having mandatory fire alarms in rented property as soon as possible.
Stephen Williams
I have much sympathy with what my right hon. Friend says. We all have a role to play as parliamentarians. Every six months when the clocks go back or forward, the Department uses that opportunity to remind people to check the smoke alarms that they have in place, and to remind householders and landlords that having a smoke alarm in place is good practice. We are having the consultation and it is possible that we will take further measures, but let us wait another 25 days.
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
Is not the lesson from all the evidence that is emerging from the private rented sector that we need stronger regulation? What will the Minister do about all the horror stories that are emerging?
Stephen Williams
Where there are horror stories, local authorities have powers to act. They can serve an improvement notice on a landlord. If a landlord does not take action, the local authority can take action itself. The consultation document looks at other measures that might be put in place. For instance, when equipment in a property is found to be defective, perhaps the redress should be a rent refund for the tenant. That would probably concentrate landlords’ minds.
Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)
Given that people are four times more likely to die in a fire if there is no smoke alarm installed in their home, have we not got to the situation where, if a private landlord does not install and properly maintain an alarm in the home, they are breaching a common law duty to properly look after their tenants and could be sued for breaching that duty of care?
Stephen Williams
My right hon. Friend is asking me to look back at my notes from more than 20 years ago about the law of tort to see whether that is the case. We are considering whether such powers should be introduced. I understand that smoke alarms are not mandatory in social housing either, so perhaps there are two houses to be put in order, as it were.
Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)
9. What assessment he has made of the effect of spending reductions on the work of fire and rescue services.