HC Deb 17 June 1980 vol 986 cc1330-1
14. Mr. Moate

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received about the present arrangements for the provisions of housing by local authorities for those leaving the Armed Forces ; and what replies he has sent.

Mr. Hayhoe

The majority of letters from hon. Members concern individual constituency cases. Whilst we do all we can to help, I must make it clear that the allocation of council housing is entirely within the discretion of local authorities. They are, however, urged by Department of the Environment circulars to recognise the particular difficulties of those leaving the forces and I am glad that so many authorities do not therefore insist on residential and employment qualifications before acceptance on their housing lists.

Mr. Moate

I thank my hon. Friend for the way that he is handling this important matter. Does he agree that there is an unsatisfactory situation where a large number of Service men apparently have to go through the process of legal eviction because a number of local authorities insist on there being a court order for possession, even for Service men who have been registered on their housing list? Has my hon. Friend any proposals for overcoming the problem?

Mr. Hayhoe

It is unfortunate that there are local authorities which insist on court orders for possession before they will act to rehouse. That causes unnecessary distress to all concerned and it is not a practice of which I approve. I am delighted to be able to tell my hon. Friend that we are discussing the problem with the Department of the Environment. Broad agreement has been reached that a certificate of impending homeless-ness will be issued and local authorities will be urged to accept that in lieu of the need to obtain a court order.

Mr. Allan Roberts

Will the Minister accept that most local authorities try to assist Service men leaving the Services but that they would be better disposed towards the problem if they were not angered by the fact that Ministry of Defence houses are kept empty unnecessarily and are not declared surplus to requirements when they should be?

Mr. Hayhoe

I do not believe that any Ministry of Defence houses are being kept empty and surplus to requirements at the moment. If any hon. Member knows of such houses, I hope that they will get in touch with me. If the houses are genuinely surplus to requirements, they will be passed to the Property Services Agency for disposal.

Mr. Viggers

Is the Minister aware that garrison towns can cope with the pressure of demand provided only that the towns or origin of Service men are prepared to accept their responsibilities? Will he ensure that the Department of the Environment keeps up the pressure to make sure that towns of origin accept their responsibilities and continue to do so?

Mr. Hayhoe

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I hope that it will be noted by those responsible in local authorities away from the main concentrations of Service men.

Mr. Concannon

Is the Minister aware that this exchange of questions and answers shows how unsatisfactory is the whole situation? It is becoming increasingly clear that to push this matter on to local authorities is not wholly fair. There must be some means by which the Ministry of Defence and the building societies can get together and devise some scheme so that the problem is not tossed on to individual councils, 90 per cent. of which try to assist. Does the Minister agree that this whole problem should not be placed on local authorities?

Mr. Hayhoe

As the Government made clear in the debates on the Defence White Paper, consideration is being given to a scheme that would help Service men in house purchase. These matters are under consideration. There are considerable financial constraints at the present time that cannot be ignored.