§ 14. Mr. Scottasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further guidance he intends to issue to local authorities regarding tenancy conditions for council tenants.
§ Mr. FreesonThis is one of the questions which the housing management adviser, whom I am appointing, will be asked to examine.
§ Mr. ScottI do not suppose that the Minister will be asking that adviser to consider the commonsense and popular step of resuming council house sales. However, I should like to put forward two specific points for his consideration. First, will he consider advising local authorities to issue all tenancies in the joint names of husband and wife, so that wives who suffer violence in marriage will have some protection in terms of the council tenancy? Second, will he urge local authorities to encourage those who are under-using their council accommodation to take in lodgers, rather than discouraging them from doing so?
§ Mr. FreesonOn the hon. Gentleman's last point, we issued policy advice on this matter in our "Housing Needs and Action" circular some months ago. I am concerned that in connection with the management of council properties and, indeed, in the handling of mortgage facilities for local authority home loans, sufficient awareness is taken of this policy. On the hon. Gentleman's first point, I have some sympathy with him. I would point out that the housing adviser will be asked to examine the idea of joint tenancies. However, there is no reason why local authorities cannot proceed with this policy in the meanwhile, if they wish to do so. We must bear in mind that whatever work we do in housing management, covering this and many other matters, it will be for the local authorities, within their own jurisdiction, ultimately to decide.
§ Mr. WellbelovedDoes the Minister agree that councils should enforce tenancy conditions with common sense and humanity? Is he aware that the council of the London borough of Bexley is threatening pet-owning tenants with eviction, causing great distress to children and elderly tenants? That council has refused the repeated pleas made by members of the community that it should operate a phasing-out system for pets rather than taking this hard-hearted and hard-faced attitude of evicting tenants and causing the destruction of their pets?
§ Mr. FreesonAlthough I certainly would advocate a humane and common-sense view about housing management, I should hesitate very much before I commented on a local, individual situation. I accept the general approach that my hon. Friend has expressed, namely, that in handling problems such as pet-keeping there should be phasing-out wherever practicable. I do not wish to comment in more detail on a particular situation.