§ 10. Mr. Litterickasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the Copec Housing Association and the Birmingham city council carry out their responsibilities towards the residents of Dawn House, Moseley, in Birmingham, consequent on the purchase of Dawn House with funds provided by his Department.
§ The Minister for Housing and Construction (Mr. Reginald Freeson)My Department's responsibility is to ensure that Copec's purchase of this hostel meets a housing need and represents value for money. I am satisfied that acquisition is justified on both these counts and is in the best interests of the residents.
§ Mr. LitterickI recognise that and I accept my right hon. Friend's argument. However, is he aware that part of the condition of the sale of Dawn House to the Copec Housing Association was that the residents, who are mentally handicapped, should be retained in Dawn House for a period of up to a year, during which time the association, in conjunction with the Birmingham social service department, would find alternative and comparable, or better, accommodation? In fact, more than half of the residents were summarily removed from Dawn House by its private owner—presumably for his own advantage—without consultation either with Copec or with the municipal authorities. As a result, those mentally handicapped people were treated like rubbish. Is it not a defect of the system that there was no consultation between my right hon. Friend's Department and the DHSS about the matter?
§ Mr. FreesonI am aware of the general background, including the information that my hon. Friend has given me in his supplementary question. I understand that he is due to meet a Minister at the DHSS later this afternoon. I shall await any results of that meeting and consider the matter further then.