REMOVAL OF CERTAIN HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS FROM REGISTER (Hansard, 6 August 1980)

§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
This amendment covers the Housing Corporation. As the House knows, the Housing Corporation has only narrow powers of deregistering housing associations under the Housing Act 1974. These, in effect, apply only when an association is no longer operating as such. The sort of 649 circumstances in which these new powers of voluntary deregistration would be of benefit mainly involve housing associations whose registration has always been unnecessary or inappropriate.
When the 1974 Act first came into effect, as many hon. Members will recall, the corporation registered a number of associations, which continue to exist but whose activities are untypical of those of a registered housing association. Such associations will not have received public money in the form of housing association grant and have probably never had any intention of applying for grant. Their registration often stems from a lack of understanding of the purpose of registration in the early days of the Act. They remain on the register simply for want of a power to remove them. This clause enables associations that have not received public money to be deregistered with the corporation's consent. That consent is necessary to ensure, for instance, that an association does not deregister merely in order to avoid an inquirey into its affairs.

§ Mr. Kaufman
We do not challenge this unexceptionable amendment, but it raises a question. As the Under-Secretary said, it lays down functions for the Housing Corporation to carry out. What I want to know is whether there will be a Housing Corporation to carry out those functions. There are rumours in the newspapers that the Government are considering the corporation's future and are indeed considering winding it up. I believe that this is a suitable occasion for a Government spokesman to assure us that this is not an otiose amendment, in the sense that there will be a Housing Corporation, that it will continue its activities and existing responsibilities, and that the very important functions of, among other things, registering and maintaining the probity of the housing association movement will continue.
I look forward to receiving an assurance that the Government have no intention of abolishing the corporation.

§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg
I should have thought that above most other hon. Members, with his extensive experience of the media, the right hon. Gentleman would not believe every rumour that he hears. The Housing Corporation was set up by Act of Parliament and is doing a valuable 650 job. If the Government contemplated any change they would inform the House.
The position is simply that we have provided in the amendment, as in other amendments, for certain functions to be carried out by the corporation, and we have no present intention of disbanding it.

§ Mr. Kaufman
I am very grateful for what the Under-Secretary says. It was not a question of my believing the rumours; it was the fact that they were circulating and that this was a useful opportunity to obtain from the Government the specific commitment that the hon. Gentleman has given, which we welcome, that they have no intention of disbanding the Housing Corporation, and that therefore it will continue its valuable activities, including its very important role of supervising and maintaining the probity of the housing association movement.

§ Mr. William Hamilton (Fife, Central)
I ask my right hon. Friend to read carefully what the Minister said, which was that the Government had "no present intention" of dealing with the Housing Corporation. That is very different from a specific guarantee to keep it in being.