---

Dr. Palmer: I am thinking of introducing a private Member's Bill to make it illegal to introduce probing amendments that do not make sense, but in the absence of such legislation, we have to deal with amendments as they stand. I note that in his response to the hon. Member for Ludlow (Matthew Green), the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) evaded the question of whether his amendment is intended to cover all private housing. As it stands, it does, so we would have to investigate not only whether my house has disabled access, but whether his grotto does. Does any sensible party aspiring to government really wish to impose such a burden on local authorities?

I entirely accept the hon. Gentleman's point that disabled organisations and sensible people everywhere want local authorities to keep track of the modifications made to local authority housing and social housing so that a match of the kind that he described can be encouraged. That would be entirely sensible and I should be surprised to discover that any local authority wanted to lose track of the improvements that it has made.

I can also see that there is a case for encouraging private owners to register improvements of this kind; doing so might well help them to sell the property in due course. However, I cannot see the point in maintaining a vast local bureaucracy that pursues every modification to every house and flat in the local authority area to try in vain to keep track of whether Flat 17, Gregoria Mansions, for example, has been modified in a way that would be helpful to people with a particular problem.

Mr. Hayes: I do not want to delay our proceedings, but the hon. Gentleman needs to acquaint himself with the Housing Act 1996, parts VI and VII of which already encourage housing authorities to maintain lists of properties suitable for disabled people and other special needs groups. More especially, in 1999, the National Disabled Persons Housing Service and the Housing Corporation described the benefits of such registers. The need now is for some statutory teeth to back up that good practice.

The hon. Gentleman is not, I hope, making a fundamental criticism of my proposal. I have made it clear that this is a probing amendment. We are simply looking to the Government to give teeth to the good practice that has already been established by a range of organisations and in legislation.

Dr. Palmer: The hon. Gentleman points to other legislation that encourages a register of suitable housing. However, as I understand it, his amendment would require local authorities to inspect every dwelling, flat and other building in the area to see whether it was purpose-built or adapted and what access features were available. He is a sensible man and I feel sure that, on reflection, he will agree that his amendment
 
30 Apr 2004 : Column 1128
 
goes further than the provisions in existing Acts. Even probing amendments should be sensible in their own terms.

10.45 am

Mr. Hayes: Perhaps the hon. Gentleman did not hear what I said. I repeat that the 1996 Act makes it absolutely clear that housing authorities are encouraged to maintain lists of properties suitable for disabled people and other special needs groups. It is true that such properties will be spread throughout a range of housing types. What we need to do is to achieve a better match, which requires that authorities take a lateral approach. The issue is not the extent of what they should do, but whether it can be done cost-effectively. That is why the current cost of not getting a good match needs to be properly measured against the cost of implementing a scheme. I do not say that the amendment is perfect—it is a probing amendment—but surely the hon. Gentleman will briefly acknowledge that the Government should at least look at this issue.

Dr. Palmer: I entirely agree that it is sensible for local authorities to try to promote the availability of accessible housing and to keep track of the accessible housing of which they are aware. However, as it stands, the amendment would require local authorities to list current and proposed accessible residential properties and give details of the access features relating to each property.

The amendment reflects a general pattern of behaviour in Her Majesty's Opposition. In general terms, they are in favour of fewer bureaucrats, less local expenditure and lower council tax. But in respect of any given issue, they want more bureaucrats and greater local authority expenditure, the inevitable consequence of which is higher council tax. Even in this relatively cosy environment of a Friday morning discussion of a Bill, we should not lose track of the fact that there is a fundamental inconsistency there. Let us promote the good practice of local authorities keeping track of accessible housing, but let us not impose on them the requirement to send an inspector round to every building to maintain a vast register that will be out of date the moment that it is printed.

I urge the hon. Gentleman to withdraw his amendment. We all accept its spirit—we need to promote disabled-friendly housing—but its means are unachievable. He suggested a pilot scheme and I suggest that he try to persuade his own local authority to run one. If he is successful, we look forward to his authority's announcement of next year's council tax and we will see whether we have to cap it.

Mr. Stunell: I thank the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) for introducing this amendment, which has obviously generated some interest. It is certainly worthy and full of the best intentions, but it suffers from a couple of serious flaws. In its original form, it related to the Housing Act 1996, which refers to local authority and registered social landlord housing and does not automatically apply to the private sector. By transposing the amendment to the Building Act 1984, which does apply to all buildings, he has created a problem for himself that he perhaps did not recognise at the time.
 
30 Apr 2004 : Column 1129
 

There is also a problem with the drafting in that the provision applies to all houses in the private and the public sector and to all future houses as well as present ones. The amendment refers to

"current and proposed accessible residential properties",

so presumably a scan of the planning list and applications would be needed. Overall, there are all sorts of technical problems with the amendment.

From my perspective of promoter of the Bill, the amendment adds a completely new dimension. I also remind the hon. Gentleman that his colleague, the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond), took up a considerable amount of the House's time on Second Reading to criticise my Bill, as it was then drafted, for the burdens that it imposed on local authorities. After that criticism, I find it a little hard to be faced with a proposal to put back into the Bill a provision that the Conservative Front-Bench spokesman specifically condemned. The hon. Member for Broxtowe (Dr. Palmer) also commented on the lack of precision in the amendment.

The hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings said that the amendment would be cost-effective. If so, I should have thought that we needed a code of practice to explain to local authorities the benefits that would accrue if they adopted it. They should then be queuing up for a cost saving, which they are always searching for.

I repeat that the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge heavily criticised me on Second Reading for doing exactly what the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings is seeking to achieve through the amendment. The hon. Gentleman will not therefore be surprised if I do all that I can to resist the amendment on this occasion.

Phil Hope: The amendment would require local housing authorities to maintain a register of all housing, including private sector housing, that is accessible to people with disabilities. The Government recognise that it is enormously important that disabled people can access accommodation that meets their needs. In replying to this probing amendment, I shall say a few words about increasing the supply of accessible homes and the importance of being able to match disabled people with them. I am pleased that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning was in his place to hear our debate.

We are taking action to increase the supply of housing accessible to people with disabilities. All newly built homes are required to comply with part M of the building regulations. The Government revised part M in 1999 to improve the visitability and convenience of new housing. The revised regulations include requirements to ensure that entrances, lifts, corridors, doorways and WCs are accessible, including to wheelchair users. Those provisions are expected to enable occupants to cope better with reducing mobility and to live longer in their own homes.

We announced earlier this year that we will carry out a further review of part M, with the aim of incorporating lifetime home standards for accessibility into the
 
30 Apr 2004 : Column 1130
 
building regulations. Furthermore, in relation to new social housing, the Government require that all schemes funded through the Housing Corporation comply not only with the building regulations, but with additional criteria for accessibility and internal environments set out in the Housing Corporation's scheme development standards.

Our reform of the planning system is also designed to address issues of access and inclusion. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill includes requirements for access statements to be drawn up to support planning applications in appropriate circumstances. The Bill will also introduce a statutory requirement for those responsible for preparing regional spatial strategies and local development documents in England to undertake those functions with a view to contributing to the achievement of sustainable development. That will be defined in planning policy statement 1. PPS1 will make it clear that development plans should contain clear and comprehensive inclusive access policies.

We are not only taking action to improve accessibility in relation to new developments; we have also substantially increased resources to fund adaptations to existing housing stock. The disabled facilities grants programme provides funding for local authorities to help disabled home owners and tenants to pay for essential adaptations to their homes. Since 1997, Government funding for disabled facilities grants has nearly doubled, rising to £100 million a year. This year, more than 33,000 homes will be adapted to meet the needs of disabled people through the programme—a 50 per cent. increase on 1997–98. That deals with the point raised by the hon. Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire) about the resources available to help disabled people secure accessible homes. We have also given local authorities new and wide-ranging discretionary powers to provide help for home owners for repairing and improving their properties, in addition to the support provided through the mandatory disabled facilities grants programme.

Through our revisions to the building regulations, through the standards we set for new social housing, through our reforms to the planning system and through our funding for adaptations, we are seeking to increase the availability of accessible homes that meet the needs of disabled people. However, the point of the amendment is about how to match those homes to disabled people. Increasing the supply of accessible housing to disabled people is only the first task. We also need to ensure that people with disabilities are matched with the most suitable accommodation available. The amendment is designed to press the Government to make improvements in that respect. That, of course, is why the Government encourage local housing authorities to maintain disability housing registers, an issue that was debated during the passage of the Housing Bill.

The code of guidance on the allocation of accommodation that we issued to local housing authorities in November 2002 makes it clear that

"the Secretary of State recommends housing authorities to maintain lists of properties which are suitable for disabled people and other special needs groups . . . Such lists might include all accessible or significantly adapted local authority stock, RSL properties and private sector properties to which authorities nominate tenants."

 
30 Apr 2004 : Column 1131
 

In addition to that statutory guidance, good practice guidance on disabled housing registers is also available to social landlords. "A Perfect Match?", published jointly by the Housing Corporation and the National Disabled Persons Housing Service in 1999—currently being updated—is designed to help spread best practice and to support the creation of matching services.

Choice-based lettings schemes, under which properties are openly advertised and appropriately labelled as to the level of adaptation, also make it easier to match people with disabilities to appropriate available accommodation. Those schemes help to provide people with disabilities with the information that they need to choose a home appropriate to their diverse needs. More than 20 per cent. of local authorities are now pursuing some form of choice-based lettings system and we have set a target that all local authorities will have adopted choice-based lettings schemes by 2010.

Although I am fully in favour of measures that make it easier to match the housing needs of disabled people with available accommodation, in view of all that I have said, I am not persuaded that the amendment is the appropriate way forward. I hope that I have demonstrated our enthusiasm for making change and progress, but not necessarily through the amendment. There were good intentions behind it, but it also has unfortunate consequences. The Government repealed the duty to maintain a housing register in the Homelessness Act 2002, and I am not convinced that there is sufficient justification to reintroduce that duty for one category of applicant only.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Dr. Palmer) pointed out, the amendment would require local authorities to maintain detailed registers of all current and future accessible housing in their area. To meet that requirement, local authorities would need to collect information on the access features of not only social housing and private sector housing to which the authority has nomination rights, but of all housing—including owner-occupied housing and homes for private let. The amendment would also require local authorities to provide information relating not only to existing homes, but, as the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Mr. Stunell) pointed out, to all homes proposed to be built or adapted to meet accessibility standards in the future.

The exceptionally broad scope of the requirement would clearly place enormous demands on the resources of local authority housing services. For local authorities to collect detailed information on all properties within their boundaries—whether owned by them or by private individuals, and whether existing or yet to be built—would be onerous indeed.

The question of cost was mentioned. I am aware that some local authorities that operate disabled housing registers have reported savings from this scheme. Following debates in Committee on the Housing Bill, the Minister for Housing and Planning asked Office of the Deputy Prime Minister officials to look into the operation of such registers across the country. That was the commitment that we made in Committee. The emerging findings show enormous variation in the declared savings of such schemes. Information was limited, variable and lacking in consistency. For
 
30 Apr 2004 : Column 1132
 
instance, some estimates were based on the whole disabled persons housing service, rather than specifically on the disabled housing register.

11 am

Because of those serious data reliability issues, we cannot be certain that registers would produce any savings for authorities in the long term. What is certain is that all registers incurred significant start-up costs, which would be a significant new burden on local authorities if registers were to be required in legislation. There are also practical issues around how local authorities could gather information about the access features of privately owned properties in their area in practice, unless the owner volunteered such information. Our view remains that making registers a legislative requirement would place a disproportionate burden upon local authorities and take up resources that could be better used to improve the provision of housing for disabled people through the disabled facilities grants programme.

We are committed to taking action to ensure that people with disabilities have access to housing that meets their needs. Our announcement of an expedited review of part M to incorporate the lifetime home standard into the building regulations illustrates that commitment. But we believe that the best way forward is through non-legislative measures, such as increased funding for the delivery of a first-class adaptations service and continuing to encourage and promote best practice in local lettings policies to help match people with the most appropriate housing available. With those words of explanation, I ask the hon. Gentleman to withdraw this amendment.

---