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Finally, and most importantly, its standards may explicitly include standards on methods by which tenants can influence or control the management of their homes. In other words, this allows the regulator to set standards on how landlords give tenants choice about the management service they receive. This is one of the reasons why I am very keen not to delete the word “control” from Clause 191(2)(g), which Amendment No. 119 seeks to do, because standards on tenant involvement in management is one of the key areas where the Secretary of State can direct the regulator.

The third aspect of these amendments is that they would allow management transfer to be used on the basis of an application, even if there has been no statutory inquiry. That is the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Best. This is where we have the greatest difficulty. Given the seriousness and intrusiveness of the management transfer power, I strongly believe that

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its use must be preceded by an inquiry to investigate whether there has been mismanagement. Using the power without an inquiry would be contrary to natural justice, and it might give rise to human rights concerns. Cave was aware of that, and it is contrary to what he recommended. He said:

Evidence is crucial. In Committee, I debated the use of this power with the noble Lord, Lord Best, who was concerned about it being too easy for the regulator to use. I have tabled amendments to address some of his concerns. I am therefore disinclined to reverse course at this stage.

In producing the Bill, we have had to balance the needs of tenants against those of landlords. The Bill offers a much better deal for tenants than the existing system. It has been greatly improved during its passage through this House so I am grateful to noble Lords. For the regulator to require, for the first time, that a provider tender or transfer management of homes to another body is a huge step forward, as is greater tenant involvement in regulation and management. My amendments deliver that.

However, there must be a balance. The regulator must take account of the desirability of providers managing their own businesses, minimise interference and not misuse its considerable powers. It must act on the basis of evidence and of real need. That is important to providers and lenders, who I suspect would be very concerned if we were to amend the Bill in this way. The independence and stability of providers are clearly in the long-term interests of taxpayers and tenants.

What really matters, as my noble friend Lord Filkin argued, is that providers involve tenants more in choices over the service they receive, with encouragement from the regulator and, where necessary, some enforcement. That matters more to me than encouraging a constant stream of demands that the regulator force management change when it has less intrusive and more effective solutions at its disposal.

The noble Earl asked me two questions. I have one answer here, but I seem to have lost the other one. I may well have to write to him about it. He asked what a general description of complaints is. It is intended that the numbers, types and severity of complaints should be summarised and related to the response made by the regulator. It does not imply a detailed description of all complaints. I will write to him on that point and the other point before Third Reading to make sure that we have all the detail.

In relation to the question asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, on mismanagement, the governance concerns that we discussed in Committee are included in the definition of mismanagement. At present, the corporation is able to intervene where there is misconduct. No problems have come up with that power so we are carrying forward the definition that has worked to date.

I am conscious that I have spoken for a long time. I hope noble Lords will accept what I have said in relation to the government amendments and to their own amendments.



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Lord Filkin: My Lords, I thank my noble friend for her thoughtfulness and care in responding to these complex issues. I shall value reading what she has said. I will reflect on it and see whether I need to come back at Third Reading or whether I can leave a little peace in her life before she prepares for the Planning Bill. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

[Amendment No. 94A not moved.]

Clause 94 [Annual report]:

Baroness Andrews moved Amendments Nos. 95 and 96:

(c) contain a general description of complaints made to the regulator in that year about the performance of registered providers and of how those complaints have been dealt with.”

On Question, amendments agreed to.

Baroness Andrews moved Amendment No. 97:

(a) promote awareness of the regulator’s functions among tenants of social housing,(b) where the regulator thinks it appropriate, consult them about the exercise of its functions (for example, by holding meetings), and(c) where the regulator thinks it appropriate, involve them in the exercise of its functions (for example, by appointing them to committees or sub-committees).

On Question, amendment agreed to.

Clause 110 [Disclosure]:

Baroness Andrews moved Amendments Nos. 98 and 99:

On Question, amendments agreed to.

Clause 114 [Local authority non-registrable bodies]:

Baroness Andrews moved Amendment No. 100:

On Question, amendment agreed to.

Lord Dixon-Smith moved Amendment No. 101:

The noble Lord said: My Lords, the question of tenant empowerment must in the end depend on tenants having sufficient accurate information on which to

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base their opinions. We have tabled these two amendments to ensure that tenants are properly supplied with information by their housing providers.

Amendment No. 101, which deals with the accountability of providers, inserts a new clause to require every registered provider to prepare a statement showing how it will account to residents for the performance of its functions. Amendment No. 129 returns to the regulator accrediting social housing providers, and states:

Those two amendments are very simple and straightforward, but the whole debate that we have had on the previous group is to do with a large part of the purpose of the Bill, which is giving tenants power over their environment. As providers are landlords funded partly through the public sector and partly through the private sector, we must ensure that they account properly to their tenants for what they are doing and why they are doing it.

If we are to give tenants power to complain about their landlords to a regulator who might, in certain circumstances, choose to change that landlord, we must ensure that any movement by tenants corporately is supported adequately by accurate and precise information about what is going on. The amendments would facilitate that process; I beg to move.

Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I am completely sympathetic to the intention and the vocabulary of the noble Lord as he described the amendments and I welcome them back because I strongly agree with the need to ensure that registered providers are indeed properly accountable to their tenants and that tenants have the information that they need to exercise their rights.

Where we disagree is on how that imperative should be reflected in the Bill. Generally, we have preferred to use regulatory tools rather than impose direct statutory requirements on RSLs because, as we all know, that is more flexible, lighter touch and more consistent with the independence of the sector. I do not want to return to the debate on the risk of reclassification of RSLs as public rather than private sector bodies, but we always have that in mind when considering these issues. I very much doubt whether those concerns would be eased by imposing a direct statutory duty on every RSL in England at this stage of the Bill’s progress. I am also reluctant to impose such a requirement on RSLs without consultation with the sector.

For those reasons, I am not convinced that it would be wise to impose a statutory duty, as the noble Lord proposes. However, we have given careful thought to the aims behind the amendments and how we can translate them into reality. We think that the best way to do so would be through regulatory guidance. That would have several advantages. It would allow the RSL sector to be consulted first, as required by Clause 214. It would give the regulator some flexibility to determine what should be included in the accountability statements. That would help to ensure consistency with whatever regulatory standards had been set. Consistency is very important, given the sector that we are dealing with. It would also integrate the requirement into the broader

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regulatory system. It would be for the regulator to decide whether this was appropriate, but I believe that the National Housing Federation is keen on these changes. If it wanted to submit this requirement as a regulatory proposal, I am sure that the regulator would consider it seriously.

5.15 pm

Although accountability statements would be better dealt with through regulatory guidance, it is also important to recognise that the Bill will provide a strong impetus for RSL accountability to tenants. The ability to set standards for methods of consulting tenants and enabling them to influence or control the management of their accommodation and environment also means that those standards have to be consulted on and enforced, and in doing so the regulator has to observe his objectives. We are aiming for choice, protection and the opportunity for tenants to be involved in the management of their homes. It is therefore highly likely that these standards will include requirements that relate to accountability to tenants as well. In fact, that makes perfect sense. However, consultation is a more appropriate route to the same goal than a statutory requirement.

We had extensive debates in Grand Committee about the importance of information and how information alone can bring choice and empowerment. The same logic applies to accountability, because tenants will not be able to hold their landlords to account unless they can access information. The Bill provides for that, because the regulator is subject to a statutory requirement to publish information about RSLs’ performance against standards.

I hope the noble Lord will be reassured that we are at one with his intention and that we can achieve what he wants through the new regulatory system. I assure him that we differ only on the means, not the ends.

Lord Dixon-Smith: My Lords, I am happy to acknowledge that the difference between us, if it is a difference, is between the means and the ends. However, the end is no problem; the question is how you get there. The Minister’s explanation and offer of regulatory guidance in essence accepted the principles behind the amendments. It is therefore perfectly possible for me to beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 124 [Complaints]:

Baroness Andrews moved Amendments Nos. 102 and 103:

(a) for subsection (2)(a) substitute—“(a) a registered provider of social housing,”,(b) in subsection (2)(d) after “registered with” insert “the Regulator of Social Housing or”, and(c) at the end add—

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“General provision about orders

On Question, amendments agreed to.

Clause 148 [Effect of moratorium]:

Lord Bassam of Brighton moved Amendment No. 104:

The noble Lord said: My Lords, this large group of amendments makes a number of changes to the disposal provisions in the Bill. Amendments Nos. 104 and 107 address a concern raised in Grand Committee by the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, about the effect of the moratorium provisions, which are triggered when a registered provider becomes insolvent, on a third party who had agreed but not completed a purchase of land from a registered provider. Noble Lords will know that a moratorium is triggered only in the most serious circumstances, when a registered provider becomes insolvent. There has been only one moratorium in the history of the Housing Corporation, which occurred when the housing association Ujima became insolvent last December.

The effect of a moratorium is that the registered provider's land may be disposed of only with the regulator's prior consent. As noble Lords will be aware, disposals of social housing by a registered provider require the regulator's consent at any time. There are two differences during a moratorium. First, the requirement to seek the regulator's consent extends beyond the provider itself by preventing secured creditors enforcing their security and repossessing land. Secondly, the requirement to seek consent extends to all land, not just to social housing.

For the majority of disposals by the provider, there will be no change. Disposals of social housing continue to require consent as before, and disposals under the right to buy and the right to acquire continue to be exempt as before. In theory, however, that means that a registered provider could have agreed to, but not completed, a disposal of land that was not social housing and therefore did not require consent under Clause 171, but could find that the disposal required consent under Clause 148 once a moratorium was triggered. The sale then could be delayed or even prevented. I accept that this is a strong power, which could disadvantage a third party, but we believe that it is necessary to provide protection in most cases. A moratorium is extremely rare. It arises only when the provider is insolvent and the future of the homes is therefore at serious risk. In this situation, tenants’ homes will be at risk, as will public investment and the investment of secured and unsecured creditors.



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Following the concerns raised in Grand Committee, we have considered what the effect of these provisions might be on an individual homebuyer. We agree that it seems disproportionate to block the sale of a single home to an individual who intends to use the property as their primary residence. These amendments, therefore, make similar provision in the moratorium clauses to those in the main disposals clauses. Disposals of a single home to an individual homebuyer are exempt from the provision that they are void when made without the necessary consent. The regulator still would have the power to prevent large-scale or commercial disposals which are not in the best long-term interests of the provider, but individual homebuyers will not be affected. I hope that noble Lords will agree that this strikes the right balance between protecting individuals and protecting the long-term interests of tenants and public investment.

Amendments Nos. 105, 106, 110 and 111 amend Clauses 147 and 172, which set out exceptions to the requirement to seek disposal consent. Clause 147 relates to disposals during a moratorium, whereas Clause 172 relates to the normal course of business. In both clauses there is an exception for disposals which require consent under other legislation, mainly stock-transferred homes. Although the responsibility for those consents will, in future, be given by the regulator rather than the Secretary of State, the consents are still given under the original legislation; that is, the Housing Act 1985 and the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. They still need to be excepted from the main disposal consents regime, otherwise registered providers would theoretically be required to seek consent twice. These amendments correct an error in those exceptions, which, at present, refer only to the consents required under the Housing Act 1985. Those required under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 are missing.

Amendment No. 114 closes a potential loophole opened up by the changes we made in Grand Committee which limited the requirement to seek disposal consent to only social housing. The potential for providers to evade the requirement to seek disposal consent by changing the use of a property is largely limited by the protection in Clause 70 that accommodation which becomes social housing remains social housing except in very specific circumstances. There is a theoretical possibility, however, that this protection could be avoided if the land was no longer accommodation; that is, if the home had been demolished. This amendment ensures that, if consent is required for the disposal of a dwelling, it continues to be required even if the land has ceased to be a dwelling.


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