Clause
137Moratorium
Mr.
Wright: I beg to move amendment No. 203, in clause 137,
page 55, line 8, at end
insert— ‘( ) The regulator
shall give the HCA a copy of any notice received under this
section.’.
The
Chairman: With this it will be convenient to discuss
Government amendments Nos. 204 to 208.
Mr.
Wright: These clauses relate to the moratorium, which is
an important process for protecting social housing stock. It is
triggered only when a registered provider is in the most serious
financial difficulties. The amendments simply add the Homes and
Communities Agency to the list of interested parties that must be
notified when a moratorium is triggered, extended or concluded. As has
been said throughout consideration of the Bill, the HCA, as the major
investor in the sector, clearly has an important interest. On that
basis, I hope that hon. Members will accept the
amendment. Amendment
agreed to.
Clause 137, as
amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
The
Chairman: I had better explain to the Minister and to the
Committee that I put clause 135 as stand part and the Committee
accepted it. We have noticed that the Minister’s name is on a
proposal to withdraw it, which we did not do. I apologise; we have been
trying to push business through to get to the bits that hon. Members
want to discuss, and I am afraid that the clause has now been accepted
and will have to be withdrawn on Report. I apologise, and anybody else
who wishes to may also do
so. 12
noon
Clause
138Duration
of
moratorium Amendments
made: No. 204, in clause 138, page 55,
line 37, leave out
‘and’. No.
205, in
clause 138, page 55, line 39, at
end insert ‘, and ( ) the
HCA.’. No.
206, in
clause 138, page 56, line 4, at
end insert— ‘( ) When a
moratorium ends the regulator shall also give notice to the
HCA.’.—[Mr.
Wright.] Clause
138, as amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
139Further
moratorium Amendments
made: No. 207, in clause 139, page 56,
line 18, leave out
‘and’. No.
208, in
clause 139, page 56, line 20, at
end insert ‘, and ( ) the
HCA.’.—[Mr.
Wright.] Clause
139, as amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
140Effect
of
moratorium
Mr.
Wright: I beg to move amendment No. 209, in
clause 140, page 56, line 25, at
end insert ‘(and a purported disposal without
consent is void)’.
I apologise to the Committee
for my doziness. I seem to have inherited the condition of the hon.
Member for Montgomeryshire—it is
infectious. Clause
140 sets out the main effect of a moratorium, which is that during
it, “the registered
provider’s land may be disposed of only with the
regulator’s prior
consent.” That is a key
part of the process for protecting social homes when a provider is in
serious financial difficulty. It allows the regulator 28 days to put
together proposals to protect homes and tenants. The amendment will
give teeth to that requirement, stating categorically that an attempt
at disposal without the necessary consent is void. That provision
applies also to disposals made without the necessary consents under
chapter 5, which sets out a general disposal consents regime. On that
basis, I hope that hon. Members will accept the
amendment. Amendment
agreed
to. Clause
140, as amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
141Exempted
disposals
Mr.
Wright: I beg to move amendment No. 210, in
clause 141, page 57, line 2, leave
out ‘and 12(1)(h)’ and insert ‘, 12(1)(h) and 12ZA
to
12B’.
The
Chairman: With this it will be convenient to discuss
Government amendments Nos. 220 and
221.
Mr.
Wright: Clauses 141 and 163 set out the types of disposal
for which the regulator’s consent is not required. Clause 141
covers disposals during a moratorium, while clause 163 covers disposals
at any other time. Exempted disposals fall into two main types: those
of the ordinary type of tenancy that a registered provider offers to
its tenants, and those to tenants under statutory schemes such as the
right to buy and the right to acquire. Those exemptions will allow
registered providers to carry on their day-to-day business without
requiring the regulator’s consent, and they will be an important
part of minimising regulation as much as
possible. The
amendments will add a further set of tenancy types that were omitted
from the original draft. They are family intervention tenancies, which
the Committee has discussed, accommodation for asylum seekers and
accommodation for displaced persons with temporary protection. It is
important that the list of exemptions is correct, otherwise registered
providers will be required to seek consent for their day-to-day
business. I therefore hope that hon. Members will accept the
amendments. Amendment
agreed
to. Clause
141, as amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill. Clause
142 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause
143Proposals:
procedure
Mr.
Wright: I beg to move amendment No. 211, in
clause 143, page 58, line 2, at
end insert ‘and its
officers’.
The
Chairman: With this it will be convenient to discuss
Government amendments Nos. 212 to
216.
Mr.
Wright: The amendments are minor technical amendments that
clarify the procedures in clause 143. In particular, I stress to the
Committee that it makes sense to provide that officers of a provider
should be notified of proposals at the same time as the registered
provider itself. On that basis, I hope that hon. Members will accept
the
amendments. Amendment
agreed
to. Amendments
made: No. 212, in clause 143, page 58,
line 8, leave out ‘and
officers’. No.
213, in
clause 143, page 58, line 13, leave
out ‘to which’ and insert
‘if— (a)
’. No.
214, in
clause 143, page 58, line 14, at
end insert ‘, and ( ) the regulator
consents.’. No.
215, in
clause 143, page 58, line 16, at
end insert ‘and its
officers’. No.
216, in
clause 143, page 58, line 26, leave
out ‘and officers’.—[Mr.
Wright.] Clause
143, as amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill. Clauses
144 to 146 ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
147Manager
of industrial and provident society: extra
powers Alistair
Burt (North-East Bedfordshire) (Con): I beg to move
amendment No. 7, in clause 147, page 60,
line 8, at end insert ‘or amalgamating with
another
society’.
The
Chairman: With this it will be convenient to discuss
amendment No. 8, in
clause 147, page 60, line 11, at
end insert— ‘(3A) An
instrument amalgamating industrial and provident societies has the same
effect as an amalgamation under section 50 of the Industrial and
Provident Societies Act 1965 (c. 12) (amalgamation of
societies).’.
Alistair
Burt: Good morning, Mr. Gale; it is good to see
you in the Chair. I do not think that you have been affected with
drowsiness.
Alistair
Burt: Doziness; well, there we are. The hon. Member for
Montgomeryshire seems to have nipped out for a quick sleep, to catch up
and to get his story straight for the afternoon, so we can carry
on. I thank the
Minister and his officials for giving us a short prĂ(c)cis of the
numerous amendments with which we are dealing today. As I said at the
end of the
previous sitting, it is most helpful to read through the notes, as it
can cut the time that we need to spend debating amendments. The amendment is short and
technical, and its intention is clear. It provides the power to
amalgamate as well as to transfer engagements in circumstances in which
it is necessary for a society to do so. We were not sure whether the
process of transferring would allow the opportunity for amalgamation.
The amendment tries to make it clear that the clause would allow that
to happen when amalgamation, rather than any other route taken by the
regulator or the manager appointed by them, appears to be the answer. I
would be grateful if the Minister were to say whether amalgamation was
originally considered as part of the clause and whether the amendment
is a helpful clarification that can easily be added to the
Bill.
Mr.
Wright: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind comments,
and for the manner in which he moved the amendment.
I fully understand what the
hon. Gentleman is trying to get at. Indeed, I accept that there are
advantages to giving a manager appointed under clause 145 a further
power, as suggested in the amendment. However, I hope that he will
allow me to consider the proposal in more detail, particularly to
assess whether unforeseen circumstances or consequences could arise
from such a widening of a manager’s powers. I hope to come back
to the matter at a later stage. Although I am fully sympathetic to what
the hon. Gentleman is trying to achieve, I hope that he will withdraw
the amendment.
Alistair
Burt: I am interested to know whether the hon. Gentleman
can foresee the unforeseen consequences that he needs to consider. If
he can do so, I am sure that he will be able to satisfy us. I
appreciate what he had to say.
I beg to ask leave to withdraw
the amendment.
Amendment, by leave,
withdrawn. Clause
147 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clauses 148 and 149 ordered
to stand part of the Bill.
Clause
150Company:
arrangements and
reconstrjuctions
Lembit
Öpik: I beg to move amendment No. 82, in
clause 150, page 61, line 11, leave
out
‘non-profit’.
The
Chairman: With this it will be convenient to discuss the
following amendments:
No. 83, in
clause 151, page 61, line 27, leave
out
‘non-profit’. No.
84, in
clause 151, page 61, line 33, leave
out from ‘and’ to end of line
34. No. 85, in
clause 151, page 61, line 35, leave
out from ‘and’ to end of line
36. No. 86, in
clause 152, page 61, line 38, leave
out
‘non-profit’. No.
87, in
clause 153, page 62, line 7, leave
out ‘non-profit’.
No. 88, in
clause 154, page 62, line 28, leave
out
‘non-profit’. No.
89, in
clause 155, page 62, line 37, leave
out
‘non-profit’. No.
90, in
clause 156, page 63, line 8, leave
out
‘non-profit’. No.
91, in
clause 157, page 63, line 21, leave
out
‘non-profit’. No.
92, in
clause 157, page 63, line 24, leave
out
‘non-profit’.
Lembit
Öpik: The amendments have been tabled in my name
and that of my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives. It is self-evident
that they seek to enforce the same principle that we discussed on a
previous clause, namely to provide a level playing field for profit and
non-profit organisations. There is no benefit to be had from repeating
those arguments. The Minister knows what they are, and I seek his
perspective, which I can guess, on
them.
Mr.
Wright: The hon. Gentleman was mercifully short, which I
welcome, and I hope to make an equally short
response. We
discussed the matter earlier. The approach that we have tried to take
in the Bill is to recognise as much as possible the different
structures and circumstances of non-profit and profit-making providers,
and to acknowledge the wider statutory environment of governance and
control. I hope that I have made it clear that it is essential that the
regulator maintains the current level of regulatory vigilance, for want
of a better term, in respect of existing social landlords. We need to
secure an orderly transition to the new system, while retaining the
confidence of lenders to the sector. At the same time, we want the new
system to be open and flexible, which is why we have proposed that
certain requirements and regulatory powers apply only in relation to
non-profit
providers. The group
of amendments would extend to all registered providers that are
companies the requirement to obtain the regulator’s consent for
dissolution and restructuring, as industrial and provident societies
must do. On that basis, and from what I outlined earlier, the
amendments are not necessary. They would be too onerous, bearing in
mind the various balances and flexibilities that we need to achieve. I
believe that the hon. Gentleman anticipated that approach, and I hope
that he will withdraw the
amendment.
| 
