Examination of Witnesses (Questions 160-166)
9 DECEMBER 2003
ANNE KIRKHAM,
MR NEIL
MCDONALD
AND MR
JEFF HOLLINGWORTH
Q160 Mr Betts: Is that going back to
an earlier point, that we could have property improved under ALMO
to Decent Homes Standards, and, while they may not be set in an
appalling environment with only a five% addition, they might not
still be in a very desirable environment?
Mr McDonald: But that is to look
at Decent Homes as if it were the only government initiative.
It does need to be seen alongside all the other initiatives that
are part of the commitment to planning and taking the whole lot
together.
Q161 Chairman: Are the Decent Homes Standards
and the Sustainable Communities programmes complementary or conflicting?
Mr McDonald: They are very much
complementary. The improvements to the Decent Homes Strategy were
announced as part of the Communities Plan back in February.
Q162 Mr Sanders: Are you saying that
Sustainable Communities has equal value to Decent Homes Standard?
Or should actually Communities determine what they think a decent
home is? Should that override the Decent Homes Standard? If, through
Sustainable Communities, the community believes that resources
should be used a different way, should that not actually be more
important than the Decent Homes Standard?
Mr McDonald: For a community to
be sustainable, all sorts of characteristics need to be present
to a sufficient standard. There do need to be decent homes and
there needs to be a decent public realm: decent public services,
adequate transport—all sorts of things that go to quality
of life. They all have to be there to an acceptable situation
if a community is to be sustainable, and that means somewhere
where people want to live and want to continue to live. In the
Decent Homes Standard government has set a minimum standard—and
I have not heard anybody argue that it is too high—that
they believe is a reasonable expectation for tenants to see in
this day and age.
Q163 Mr Betts: You gave us an additional
memorandum on the progress to date on achieving the Decent Homes
Standards. I think you expressed concern about lack of progress
to some degree. You said there were two main reasons why progress
had been slower than anticipated and went on to say that the local
authorities had spent less but also had increasing problems in
actually achieving the target in some cases. Then you went on
to list a number of elements of work in hand that you were undertaking.
Clearly the fact that you were undertaking that work indicates
that you are not absolutely convinced at this stage that the 2010
target will be met.
Mr McDonald: The 2010 target is
a challenging one. We need to be constantly vigilant, following
up what is going on and taking any corrective action right the
way along the process.
Q164 Mr Betts: You have concern that
we will not meet it, do you?
Mr McDonald: We are not complacent.
Q165 Mr Betts: Do you have a risk estimate
of what the possibility is that you might meet it or might not
meet it?
Mr McDonald: We do not have a
formal figure that we can give you.
Q166 Chairman: Is the Treasury one of
the risk elements?
Mr McDonald: Continued funding
is vital if the Decent Homes target is to be achieved.
Chairman: On that note could I thank
you very much for your evidence.
| 
