Clause
232
Section
231:
supplemental
Mr.
Wright:
I beg to move amendment No. 293, in
clause 232, page 87, line 10, leave
out subsection
(2).
The
Chairman:
With this it will be convenient to discuss
Government amendment No.
294
Mr.
Wright:
Clauses 231 and 232 concern the
removal of officers of registered providers for grounds such as
insolvency. Government amendment No. 293 removes reference to a removed
officer’s right to appeal to the
High Court, because that will now be in new clause 50, which we will
discuss later. Amendment No. 294 simplifies the wording of the
restriction on that power for charities, the details of which are now
in new clause 58, which we discussed with clause 183. I do not want to
detain the Committee any
longer.
Amendment
agreed
to.
Amendment
made: No. 294, in clause 232, page 87,
line 11, leave out from ‘only if’ to end of
line 38 and insert ‘the charity has received public
assistance.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Clause
232, as amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
233
Appointment
of new
officers
Sir
George Young:
I beg to move amendment No. 100, in
clause 233, page 88, line 3, after
‘constitution’, insert
‘provided that the total number of appointees under
this section does not exceed one-fourth of the total number of
officers, or four persons, whichever is
greater’.
This
is the other side of the coin of the debate that we have just had. When
the regulator removes officers from the board of a housing association,
clause 233 deals with his powers to appoint new officers. My amendment
seeks to constrain that power, to avoid the regulator, by stealth,
effectively taking over the running of a housing association. There is
concern in the National Housing Federation that, particularly given
subsection (1)(c), the regulator could go on appointing new officers to
the housing association until he had, in effect, taken over the
provider by appointing a controlling majority to the board. The
amendment seeks to prevent that by restricting the number of officers
that the regulator can appoint. Clearly, if the regulator has lost
confidence in the board as a whole and wants to replace a lot of them,
he would use other powers in the Bill and not clause 233, so I am not
sure that the amendment is constraining the regulator from intervening
if there are causes for concern, but it would allay an anxiety on the
part of some of the housing associations if the power of the regulator
was capped, as indicated in amendment No.
100.
Mr.
Wright:
I quite like the amendment. I have a lot of
sympathy with its motivations. However, on reflection, it would be
difficult to implement while protecting powers that the regulator will
need in the most exceptional and difficult cases. In the vast majority
of cases, even serious ones, it would not be appropriate for the
regulator to make large-scale board appointments. Indeed, as the right
hon. Gentleman will know, the Housing Corporation usually appoints only
three persons under its existing power, which it states is enough to
provide the necessary mix of skills and
expertise.
Having said
that, there will be circumstances in which it might be necessary for
the regulator to appoint more than three board members to safeguard
public investment and the interests of tenants. The Housing Corporation
has been obliged to use the power on four occasions when a board has
resigned en masse. It is
important that the regulator has the powers needed to intervene in such
extreme or rare situations without having powers that might be
considered excessive in other situations. Although I cannot accept the
amendment, I am happy to consider whether it is possible to limit the
regulator’s powers to appoint a majority of board members to
specific circumstances. The resignation of a board en masse is an
obvious example, but there might be other circumstances that we should
and could provide for, such as the immediate threat to the viability of
the
provider.
Andrew
George:
The Minister mentioned boards resigning en masse.
However, would the housing association in question not also be
registered with an industrial and provident society or the Charity
Commission and would other provisions not come into play to deal with
potential dissolution? If a board resigns in such circumstances, would
it not be more appropriate for that regulatory authority and those
rules to apply, rather than for the regulator to appoint members to the
board, particularly if it has a majority stake on the
board?
Mr.
Wright:
I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point. I
have mentioned the four occasions where that has happened before. We
are trying to avoid a vacuum in governance. In exceptional
circumstances, it might be necessary for the new regulator to have that
power. As I have said, I am keen to work with the right hon. Member for
North-West Hampshire in order to find a way forward. On that basis, I
hope that he will withdraw the
amendment.
Sir
George Young:
As I have discovered over the past few
weeks, the Opposition are in a very weak negotiating position. The
Minister has made a generous offer, which I am happy to accept. I beg
to ask leave to withdraw the
amendment.
Amendment,
by leave,
withdrawn.
Clause
233 ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clauses
234 to 237 ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
238
General
Mr.
Wright:
I beg to move amendment No. 295, in
clause 238, page 90, line 32, at
end
insert—
‘“rent”
includes payments under a licence to occupy
accommodation,’.
The
Chairman:
With this it will be convenient to discuss
Government amendment No.
300
Mr.
Wright:
Amendment No. 295 is a technical amendment and
clarifies the definition of “rent” to include money
received under a licence to occupy. That will ensure that accommodation
made available under a licence can still be classed as low-cost rental
accommodation, given the reference to rent in clause 68. Amendment No.
300 merely adds that definition—I am disappointed that the right
hon. Member for North-West Hampshire has left because I am going to
mention the word “list”—to the list of definitions
in clause 239. Notwithstanding my disappointment, I hope that hon.
Members will accept the
amendments.
Amendment
agreed
to.
Clause 238,
as amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause
239
Index
of defined
terms
Mr.
Wright:
I beg to move amendment No. 296, in
clause 239, page 91, line 14, at
end
insert—
|
‘Equity
percentage
arrangements
|
Section
69(5)’.
|
The
Chairman:
With this it will be convenient to discuss
Government amendments Nos. 297, 298 and
301.
Mr.
Wright:
I shall not take up too much of the
Committee’s time. This group of amendments is minor and
technical, and simply add definitions made elsewhere in the Bill to the
list—that word again—of definitions in clause
239.
Amendment
agreed
to.
Amendments
made: No. 297, in clause 239, page 91,
line 29, at end
insert—
|
‘Pre-compensation
warning
|
Section
218’.
|
No.
298, in
clause 239, page 91, line 30, at
end
insert—
|
‘Pre-penalty
warning
|
Section
208’.
|
No.
299, in
clause 239, page 92, line 2, at
end
insert—
|
‘Received
public assistance
(charities)
|
Section
(charities that have “received public
assistance”)’.
|
No.
300, in
clause 239, page 92, line 8, at
end
insert—
No.
301, in
clause 239, page 92, line 10, at
end
insert—
|
‘Shared
ownership
arrangements
|
Section
69(4)
|
|
Shared
ownership
trust
|
Section
69(6)’.
|
—[Mr.
Wright.]
Clause
239, as amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Clause 240 ordered to stand
part of the Bill.
Clause
241
Transitional
Amendment
made: No. 302, in clause 241, page 92,
line 27, leave out
‘(initially)’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Clause
241, as amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
New Clause
34
Transfer
schemes
‘(1) The Secretary of
State may make one or more schemes for the transfer of the Housing
Corporation’s property, rights or liabilities
to—
(a) the
regulator,
(b) the HCA,
or
(c) the Secretary of
State.
(2) On the transfer
date, the designated property, rights or liabilities are transferred
and vest in accordance with the
scheme.
(3) Schedule 6 applies
to a scheme under this
section.
(4) In this
section—
“designated”,
in relation to a scheme, means specified in or determined in accordance
with the scheme;
“the
transfer date” means the date specified by a scheme as the date
on which the scheme is to have
effect.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
35
Interim
arrangements
‘The Secretary
of State may by notice require the Housing Corporation to provide
staff, premises, facilities or other assistance
to—
(a) the regulator,
or
(b) the
HCA.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
36
Seal
‘(1)
The application of the regulator’s seal shall be authenticated
by a member or by some other person authorised (generally or specially)
for that purpose.
(2) A
document purporting to be duly executed under the
seal—
(a) shall be
received in evidence, and
(b)
shall be treated as so executed unless the contrary is
shown.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, and read the First
time.
Mr.
Wright:
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second
time.
The purpose of new clause
36 is to make it clear that the application of the regulator’s
seal to a document may be carried out by any member of the board of the
regulator, or by anyone else authorised to do so. That will enable the
regulator’s staff to seal documents, of which the most important
will be disposal consents. It is a standard provision that enables
people doing business with the regulator to rely on a sealed document
without having to obtain evidence that it was properly
executed.
Question
put and agreed to.
Clause read a Second time,
and added to the Bill.
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