New Clause
37
Information,
advice &c.
‘(1) The
regulator may for the purpose of advancing its fundamental
objectives—
(a) publish
ideas or information;
(b)
undertake research in relation to social
housing;
(c) provide guidance,
advice, education or
training.
(2) The regulator may
for that purpose—
(a)
arrange for another person to do anything within subsection (1)(a) to
(c);
(b) act jointly with,
cooperate with or assist another person doing anything within
subsection (1)(a) to (c).
(3)
The persons to whom advice may be given under subsection (1)
include—
(a)
unregistered housing associations (as defined by section 2B of the
Housing Associations Act 1985 (c. 69)),
and
(b) persons who may be
forming a housing association (within the meaning of section 1(1) of
that Act).’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
38
Consent
to disposals under other
legislation
‘The Secretary of
State’s functions under the following provisions are transferred
to the regulator in so far as they relate to disposals by registered
providers—
(a) section
171D of the Housing Act 1985 (c. 68) (consent to certain
disposals of housing subject to the preserved right to buy),
and
(b) section 81 and 133 of
the Housing Act 1988 (c. 50) (consent to certain disposals of
housing obtained from housing action trusts or local
authorities).’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, and read the First
time.
Mr.
Wright:
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second
time.
The
Chairman:
With this it will be convenient to discuss the
following:
Government
new clause 39—Section (consent to disposals under other
legislation): consequential
amendments.
Government
amendment No.
303
Government
amendment No.
305
7
pm
Mr.
Wright:
As the Committee is well aware, we are
establishing a new social housing regulator whose key objective will be
the protection of tenants of registered providers. Part of the
protection that we currently provide to such tenants comes in the
requirement that their landlord must seek consent before they can
dispose of their homes. In most cases, a registered social landlord
requires the consent of the Housing Corporation for disposals of land,
but with certain homes, the Secretary of State’s consent is
required instead. Section 171D of the Housing Act 1985 requires the
Secretary of State’s consent if the tenant has the preserved
right to buy, which applies generally
to homes that were previously owned and let by local authorities.
Sections 81 and 133 of the Housing Act 1988 require the Secretary of
State’s consent for the first disposal of a home acquired
respectively from a housing action trust or local authority. The local
authority would have required the Secretary of State’s consent
for the initial disposal under the 1985 Act, section 133 of which
requires consent for a subsequent disposal.
It is entirely right and
consistent that registered providers should seek such consent from the
new regulator in future. New clauses 38 and 39 put that into effect.
The clauses provide that consent must be sought first from the new
social housing regulator, if consent is sought by a registered provider
for disposal of a home in England; secondly, from the Secretary of
State if consent is sought by any other landlord for disposal of a home
in England; and, thirdly, from Welsh Ministers if consent is sought for
disposal of any home in Wales, whoever proposes to dispose of
it.
New clause 39
repeals subsection (6) of sections 81 and 133 of the 1988 Act, which
require the Secretary of State to consult the Housing Corporation
before consenting to a disposal of land by a registered social
landlord. As the Committee is aware, the Bill will abolish the Housing
Corporation and Oftenant, the regulator, will take over its disposal
consent functions. That requirement is therefore obsolete.
Amendments Nos. 303 and 305 are
consequential on new clause 39. They add references to the repeal
provisions to the schedule of repeals. I hope that that has made things
clear.
Question put
and agreed
to.
Clause read
a Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
39
Section
(consent to disposals under other legislation): consequential
amendments
‘(1) In section
171D of the Housing Act 1985 (consent to certain disposals of housing
obtained subject to the preserved right to
buy)—
(a) in subsection
(2) (consent) for “Secretary of State” substitute
“appropriate authority”,
and
(b) after that subsection
insert—
“(2A)
“The appropriate authority”
means—
(a) in relation
to a disposal of land in England by a registered provider of social
housing, the Regulator of Social
Housing,
(b) in relation to any
other disposal of land in England, the Secretary of State,
and
(c) in relation to a
disposal of land in Wales, the Welsh
Ministers.”
(2) In
section 81 of the Housing Act 1988 (consent to certain disposals of
housing obtained from housing action
trusts)—
(a) in
subsection (3) (consent) for “Secretary of State”
substitute “appropriate
authority”,
(b) after
that subsection
insert—
“(3A) In
this section “the appropriate authority”
means—
(a) in relation
to a disposal of land in England by a registered provider of social
housing, the Regulator of Social
Housing,
(b) in relation to any
other disposal of land in England, the Secretary of State,
and
(c) in relation to a disposal of land in Wales, the
Welsh Ministers.”,
(c)
in subsection (5) (consultation of tenants) for “Secretary of
State” substitute “appropriate
authority”,
(d) in
subsection (5)(a) for “himself” substitute
“itself”, and
(e)
omit subsection (6) (consultation of Housing
Corporation).
(3) In section
133 of that Act (consent to certain disposals of housing obtained from
local authorities)—
(a)
in subsection (1) (consent) for “Secretary of State”
substitute “appropriate
authority”,
(b) after
that subsection
insert—
“(1ZA) In
this section “the appropriate authority”
means—
(a) in relation
to a disposal of land in England by a registered provider of social
housing, the Regulator of Social
Housing,
(b) in relation to any
other disposal of land in England, the Secretary of State,
and
(c) in relation to a
disposal of land in Wales, the Welsh
Ministers.”,
(c) in
subsection (3)(c) (modification of certain provisions applied for the
purposes of section 133) after “this section,” insert
“any reference to the appropriate national body shall be
construed as a reference to the appropriate authority
and”,
(d) in subsection
(5) (consultation of tenants) for “Secretary of State”
substitute “appropriate
authority”,
(e) in
subsection (5)(a) for “himself” substitute
“itself”, and
(f)
omit subsection (6) (consultation of Housing
Corporation).’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
40
Publication
of performance
information
‘(1) The
regulator shall publish, at least once a year, information about the
performance of registered
providers.
(2) In particular,
the regulator shall include information likely to be useful
to—
(a)
tenants,
(b) potential tenants,
and
(c) local
authorities.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
41
Inspector’s
powers
‘(1) An inspector
appointed under section 181 may by notice require a person to provide
specified documents or
information.
(2) The power
under subsection (1) may be exercised only in relation to documents and
information of a kind in respect of which the regulator can impose a
requirement under section
104.
(3) Sections 104(3) to (7)
and 105 apply for the purposes of subsection (1) (with any necessary
modifications).
(4) An
inspector may at any reasonable
time—
(a) enter premises
occupied by the registered provider which is being inspected,
and
(b) inspect, copy or take
away documents found there.
(5) An inspector may require any person on the
premises to provide such facilities or assistance as the inspector
reasonably requests.
(6) It is
an offence for a person without reasonable excuse to obstruct an
inspector exercising the powers conferred by subsection (4) or
(5).
(7) A person guilty of an
offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3
on the standard scale.
(8)
Proceedings for an offence may be brought only by or with the consent
of—
(a) the regulator,
or
(b) the Director of Public
Prosecutions.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
42
Inquiry:
charities
‘(1) An inquiry may
be held in relation to a registered charity only if it has received
public assistance.
(2) An
inquiry in relation to a registered charity may only relate to its
activities relating to
housing.
(3) If an inquiry is
held in relation to a registered charity the regulator shall notify the
Charity Commission.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
43
Use
of proceeds
‘(1) Sums in a
registered provider’s disposal proceeds fund may be used or
allocated only in accordance with a direction by the
regulator.
(2) If at the end of
a period specified by the regulator the disposal proceeds fund includes
sums which have not been allocated in accordance with subsection (1),
the regulator may require the registered provider to pay the sums to
the HCA.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
44
Notifying
HCA
‘If the regulator gives
an enforcement notice it must send a copy to the
HCA.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
45
Notifying
HCA (No.2)
‘If the regulator
imposes a penalty it must send a copy of the penalty notice to the
HCA.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
46
Impact
‘(1)
This section applies when the regulator is
considering—
(a) whether
to award compensation, or
(b)
the amount of compensation to award.
(2) The regulator must take account of any
information available to it about the financial situation of the
registered provider.
(3) The
regulator must consider the likely impact of the compensation on the
registered provider’s ability to provide
services.
(4) In particular,
the regulator must aim to
avoid—
(a) jeopardising
the financial viability of the registered
provider,
(b) preventing the
registered provider from honouring financial commitments,
or
(c) preventing the
registered provider from taking action to remedy the matters on the
grounds of which the compensation might be
awarded.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
47
Suspension
during inquiry
‘(1) The
regulator may make an order under this section
if—
(a) an inquiry under
section 183 is in progress in respect of a non-profit registered
provider, and
(b) either of the
following cases applies.
(2)
Case 1 applies if the regulator has reasonable grounds for
believing—
(a) that the
registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 173 or
174 or that its affairs have been mismanaged,
and
(b) that the interests of
tenants of the registered provider, or its assets, require
protection.
(3) Case 2 applies
if as a result of an inquirer’s interim report under section 184
the regulator is
satisfied—
(a) that the
registered provider has failed to meet a standard under section 173 or
174, or
(b) that its affairs
have been mismanaged.
(4) The
regulator may by order suspend any officer, employee or agent of the
registered provider who it thinks has contributed to the failure or
mismanagement.
(5) The
regulator may suspend an officer, employee or agent of a registered
charity only if the charity has received public
assistance.
(6) An order ceases
to have effect at the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the
day on which the inquirer’s final report under section 184 is
made.
(7) But the regulator may
revoke an order before the end of that
period.
(8) The regulator shall
notify the Charity Commission if it suspends an officer, employee or
agent of a registered charity.’.—[Mr.
Wright.]
Brought
up, and read the First
time.
Mr.
Wright:
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second
time.
The
Chairman:
With this it will be
convenient to discuss the following: Government new clause
48— Removal or suspension following
inquiry.
Government
new clause 49—Suspension under section (suspension during
inquiry) or (removal or suspension following inquiry):
supplemental.
Government
new clause 50—Appeal against removal or
suspension.
Government
new clause 51—Disqualification of removed
person.
Government new clause
52—Register of disqualified
persons.
Government
new clause 53—Acting while disqualified:
offence.
Government
new clause 54—Acting while disqualified: other
consequences.
Government
new clause 55—Restrictions on dealings during
inquiry.
Government
new clause 56—Restrictions on dealings following
inquiry.
Government
new clause 57—Restrictions on dealings:
supplemental.
Mr.
Wright:
New clauses 47 to 57 all supplement the
regulator’s powers to hold an inquiry, which are dealt with in
clauses 183 to 186. The powers are existing powers from paragraphs 23
to 26 and paragraph 28 of schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1996, which we
need to keep in the Bill. They are largely unchanged except that they
can be used where a standard has been breached. On that basis, I
commend them to the
Committee.
Question
put and agreed
to.
Clause read
a Second time, and added to the
Bill.
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