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Mr. Simon Thomas: Is the hon. Gentleman aware that in Wales—[Hon. Members: "Oh no."] The mention of Wales seems to have engaged some interest among Labour Members. Is he aware that, in Wales, the same social housing grant is used to subsidise the purchase of private accommodation by those who seek to buy their own homes, using the home-buy grant? That has been extremely successful in Wales, in working for both the private sector and people who seek affordable homes for the first time. Surely that combination might represent an alternative way to use such money in England as well, perhaps using those resources in conjunction with the private sector.

Mr. Davey: That is very helpful. I did not know that, and I am sure that that option will be considered as a way forward in Committee.

Jeremy Corbyn: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Mr. Davey: His hon. Friends will not like it, but I will give way.

Jeremy Corbyn: I am sure that they will be very happy. As the hon. Gentleman is on the subject of social

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housing, would he care to say whether he will have a word with his Liberal Democrat friends who run Islington council? At present, they are selling vacant council street property on the open market by auction, so many people who are desperate for somewhere decent to live have lost that opportunity altogether because those properties have been sold off to the private sector. Is it Liberal Democrat policy to reduce the size of the public sector, or to increase it?

Mr. Davey: I wonder what my friends in Islington are using that money for—perhaps it is being invested in more affordable housing. All I remember is that, when they took control of Islington, they were left a complete mess by the previous, Labour council and they are putting it right. That is why the Office of the Deputy Prime has increased their rating in the comprehensive performance assessment and thinks that they are doing a much better job than when Islington was under Labour control, so the hon. Gentleman should be slightly more careful.

In conclusion, when one is trying to dream up regulations whether for the private rented sector or the owner-occupied sector, one must tread very carefully. On the private rented sector, the Government have taken a very careful and sensitive approach. They have consulted and they have listened, and they are to be congratulated on that approach. However, with respect to the owner-occupied sector—with home information packs, in particular—they have failed to listen. They may have consulted—they have certainly done so for a while—but they have not listened to the logical arguments against their proposals. The Barker review suggests that the Government should not go down that route, yet, typically, their thinking does not appear to be joined up. The Government need to think again about home information packs, and I hope that my hon. Friends and other hon. Members, including Labour Back Benchers, will make them do so before we reach Third Reading.

5.28 pm

Ms Ann Coffey (Stockport) (Lab): I welcome the Bill, particularly those clauses that will give greater powers to social landlords, including councils, to deal with antisocial behaviour on the part of their tenants. I should like to take this opportunity to raise some issues related to those clauses. I fully support the extension of powers to deal with antisocial behaviour, but for those powers to be effective, it is important that front-line staff, particularly housing officers, who are being asked to take enforcement action feel confident to do so. After all, some tenants have a long history of persistent antisocial behaviour and can react to any enforcement action with threats and abuse against those who are seen to be the instigators of such action—usually other tenants, although housing officers also come in for their fair share of the abuse, so it is important that, at the same time as extending powers to deal with antisocial behaviour, we ensure that there is protection for the staff who have to enforce the legislation.

Of course, existing provisions to deal with antisocial behaviour against staff have been introduced—for example, in the Housing Act 1996 and the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Clause 13 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced a new provision that

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included the possibility of obtaining injunctions where the behaviour in question was capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to staff employed by the landlord in connection with stock management. A power of arrest is also available where there is a significant risk of harm to staff, which can include emotional or psychological harm. Section 12 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 places a new duty on social landlords to publish antisocial behaviour policies. Antisocial behaviour for that purpose is defined as conduct

"which is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to any person, and which directly or indirectly relates to or affects the housing management functions of a relevant landlord."

Those provisions give power to social landlords to deal with antisocial tenants and, clearly, that also includes antisocial behaviour to staff.

I have concerns, however, arising from the experience of one of my constituents about the effectiveness of the powers. My constituent is a senior housing officer working for Stockport council. Unusually, she is also a housing association tenant living on a council estate that has a history of antisocial behaviour by some families. The facts are not disputed. In the course of her job last March, she sent a letter to a tenant threatening enforcement action unless the garden was tidied up. Relatives of the tenant to whom she had written discovered where she lived. There then followed a campaign of harassment directed at her 11-year-old daughter, which included nuisance telephone calls that were reported to the police. There is no dispute that the telephone calls were made from the house of the tenant whom my constituent had threatened with enforcement action.

The council offered to start possession proceedings against the tenant, but said that that could be done only with my constituent's co-operation. She felt unable to co-operate because she was concerned that if the family had reacted to a letter about tidying up their garden with harassment and intimidation of her daughter, any further action might put her daughter further at risk. That is an all-too-familiar story from witnesses and victims of harassment.

My constituent asked to be re-housed by the council, but it refused to deal with her application for re-housing outside its allocations system, saying that

"the current assumption is that staff are treated like all other people"

and that there is

"no policy of the council either in the allocations policy or in the human resources policy to suggest that employees suffering difficulty should have preferential access to service".

The council also said that

"our duty as an employer does not extend to your housing situation".

In a letter, the assistant housing director stated that in the interviews that my constituent had had to try to resolve the situation,

"you have seemed to be centring on your need for re-housing".

The letter went on to say that

"there are separate roles here as employer and as service provider".

I might add that the council re-houses people with priority needs outside the allocations system through a special panel. The issue is whether my constituent, as a

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senior housing officer, has such needs. Indeed, the position of the council would suggest that as a member of staff she is actually at a disadvantage in attempting to argue special need.

In the event, my constituent was awarded 25 points after applying for re-housing to reflect, according to the chief executive,

"a member of the household having being subjected to confirmed harassment, intimidation, physical/sexual abuse, violence/threatened violence or hate crime."

However, that is not a sufficient number of points for her to be re-housed where she would feel safe. No enforcement action can be taken against the family because she is afraid of further acts against her daughter. She has been off work since September with stress.

So, the powers cannot be used to deal with antisocial behaviour in that situation because my constituent feels that further enforcement will place her daughter at risk. The council will not re-house her because it has a policy that does not give its staff special treatment for its services. In that situation, a family is getting away with antisocial behaviour because without re-housing, the housing officer does not feel able to co-operate in using the available powers, which would deal with that family if they were used.

I do not think that it is our intention to put staff in that situation. All of us expect special treatment if our job makes us vulnerable. I would expect, as a Member of Parliament, that if I had concerns about threats from a particular constituent, I would get special treatment from the police. As home owners, we can move if we are concerned about our safety, but a council or housing association tenant cannot. They are dependent on their landlord, and I would suggest that if their landlord is also their employer who is asking them to take enforcement action, that puts them in a very special position.

Stockport council does not agree with me. I am worried that it will be insufficient to ask councils to have policies to deal with antisocial behaviour if they are not also asked to have policies to protect the staff who are asked to enforce those policies. We are asking front-line civilian staff to enforce more and more legislation to tackle antisocial behaviour. Why should they do that if they cannot also rely on our protection? I ask my right hon. Friend the Minister for consideration to be given in Committee to the guidance issued to local authorities on how they draw up their antisocial behaviour policies, especially in circumstances in which a member of staff is also a recipient of a service.

I welcome the clause that will enable caravan dwellers to apply for the disabled facilities grant. I understand that both tenants and home owners may apply for the grant. In Stockport council, as in many councils, council tenants, such as my constituent Mr. Johnson, who apply for showers because they have difficulty getting in or out of the bath have to wait up to three years for them, but private tenants and home owners with the same level of need do not wait at all. The ability of older people to wash and look after themselves is important for their dignity and sense of independence. It is heartbreaking to hear from people who have to wait for months and years for adaptations such as showers because they are council tenants.

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It is not open to that council tenant to apply for a disabled facilities grant for a shower because, as such a tenant, he does not receive the application form from the council. The council effectively has two systems for dealing with applications: one for council tenants and one for everyone else. That cannot be right because it has the consequence that council tenants with disabilities are discriminated against. If I am right in thinking that council tenants may apply for the disabled facilities grant, I hope that the Minister will make it clear that it is unacceptable for councils to exclude council tenants from applying for the grant if they wish to do so.

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