§ Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Major.]
3.17 am§ Mr. Norman Hogg (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth)I have sought this Adjournment debate tonight in order to discuss the important issue of housing in Scottish new towns.
New towns have two vitally important functions—the attraction of industry and the provision of high quality housing. I want to deal tonight with the housing function.
It would be churlish of me not to place on record my appreciation—and, indeed, the appreciation of the new town of Cumbernauld—of the Minister's decision to go ahead with the building of new houses at Balloch 2A. Those houses were badly needed and it was the right decision to go ahead with the building programme.
However, the situation now emerging is very serious. The number of houses available to let is diminishing. Indeed, the answer to my parliamentary question on Monday 4 April showed that in 1979 Cumbernauld had 10,907 houses for rent, whereas five years later that figure has dropped to 9,547. The position in East Kilbride has also worsened, from 18,675 in 1979 to 16,077 in 1983. But my main concern is, of course, with Cumbernauld.
I am shocked by the fact that, five years after the Conservative Government came to power, there are 1,360 houses fewer for rent.
The causes are two-fold — the reduction in new building and the sales policy. Although the Minister was correct——
§ Mr. Robert Parry (Liverpool, Riverside)May I tender to the House the apologies of my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Garston (Mr. Loyden), who originally had the Adjournment debate. His wife was taken ill suddenly, and I hope that later, perhaps after the Easter recess, my hon. Friend can catch Mr. Speaker's eye on an Adjournment debate.
§ Mr. HoggI am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mr. Parry) for bringing to the attention of the House the fact that my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Garston (Mr. Loyden) cannot be here because of family problems. We would all wish to be associated with the points made by my hon. Friend.
Although the Minister was correct to go ahead with building at Balloch 2A, more new houses for rent are needed because the second generation of new town citizens must be housed. Their needs can be met only by a policy of new building. One important point that cannot be overstated is that, with a diminishing stock of houses to rent, the letting policy of the development corporation must be seen to be fair, and must be open and subject to scrutiny. Above all, it must establish as its main priority letting on the basis of housing needs alone. There cannot and should not be other criteria.
The sales policy has existed for a long time in Scottish new towns in general, and in Cumbernauld. A policy that includes building for sale and for rent must be the right policy for Cumbernauld and other Scottish new towns. the essential factor is that we need new building funded by the public sector, because the private sector cannot meet our needs. Our young people do not have the cash with which to buy, and many people are unemployed. Even if we get 359 the promised economic upturn—we hear much about that but it has not materialised—it would not ease the immediate problem.
There has been much rehabilitation work in Scottish housing, and even in a new town that is only 27 or 28 years old rehabilitation programmes are required. Last week I met East Carbrain residents association in Cumbernauld, whose estate must be rehabilitated. It says little for new town planners of not so long ago that we already have such programmes, and the residents are not impressed by what has happened. They live in flats which few wish to rent and no one wishes to buy. the residents doubt whether anyone will wish to purchase the houses even after renovation, yet they must make way for a rehabilitation and sales policy. The people want a decent environment, fair play in decanting, and a general upgrading of the area. When I meet the development corporation next week I shall raise the points made to me by the residents association.
The Government's housing policy for new towns can be stated simply: first, they want private building, for which I accept there is a place; secondly, they want public building only for special needs, such as those of the elderly anti disabled; and, thirdly, they want the sale of public stock to continue. I submit that that does not add up to a housing policy which meets the needs of new town communities. We need a policy of building for let, for sale and for special needs.
In addition, the Scottish new towns must look to the future. There must be a merging of housing policy between the two housing authorities in every new town—the development corporation and the district council. In the long run, the districts will assume the powers of the development corporations in relation to housing and the housing stock will be managed by the district council. It will not happen very soon—I know of the Minister's plans in that regard—but it will happen some day and we should make a start on co-ordination of housing policy between the housing authorities in each new town. I am sure that that would be welcomed by all concerned. There are anomalies as between tenants of the different authorities which should be put right.
In addition, the time has come to strengthen tenants' rights in relation to security, repairs and improvements, access to files, exchanges and transfers, moves between local authority areas and rehousing rights on breakdown of marital relationships. We must encourage a more responsive and decentralised housing management and maintenance policy and promote tenant participation and democracy, including housing co-operatives. I appreciate that much of that applies to older areas as well as to new towns, but I believe that the problems should be tackled urgently.
I want the new towns to be good places in which to live, work and enjoy recreation, and an important aspect of that is housing. A housing policy that aims at good homes and real freedom of choice as between renting and owning is called for. A policy that recognises that tenants and owner-occupiers are equals in an equitable system would be a real social advance. I hope that the Minister can hold out some hope that such a policy will commend itself to the Government.
§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Harold Walker)Does the hon. Gentleman have the consent of both the Minister and the hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (Mr. Hogg) to speak?
§ Mr. DewarI assure you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that my hon. Friend for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (Mr. Hogg) and the Minister are well aware that I intend to take just two minutes. I recognise, if I may say so, that even Deputy Speakers occasionally tire. As it is now 3.26 am. I shall not delay the House.
I congratulate my hon. Friend on his ingenuity in filling an unfortunate gap resulting from the unavoidable absence of another Member and securing this Adjournment debate. No one works harder than my hon. Friend for causes of new towns and his something of a byword for assiduousness and effectiveness in watching over the developments in this area.
The House may be relieved to hear that I do not think that this is the moment for a major discussion of new town policy, but I very much endorse my hon. Friend's comments about the coming together over a period—I accept that it will be a fairly long period — of the development corporation and the district council and a marrying of their housing responsibilities, with the district council eventually taking full responsibility.
It may be helpful if, in the time remaining to him in this short debate, the Minister would say something about the way in which he envisages the housing stock developing and about the guidance that he is giving—"instructions" is a fairer word, as we all know that in matters of rent and housing development policy the new town development corporations are very much subject to the instructions of the Scottish Office.
We are all familiar with the rhetoric of choice in housing. Like my hon. Friend, I am especially anxious that sufficient rented accommodation should be available in the new towns for those who wish to opt for that type of housing as distinct from exercising the equally legitimate but not necessarily more legitimate choice to buy.
As I understand it—perhaps the Minister will correct me if I am wrong — some of the new towns have received an instruction from the Scottish Office that housing for rent will not be built. The concentration, laudable in the sense that there is a shortage of special needs housing, will be in that area, but less laudable because it is in some danger of destroying the real choice to which I referred on building for immediate sale.
Will the Minister say a word or two about what he intends the new town development corporations to do in the next year or two? I recognise that he cannot anticipate future years to any great extent, but perhaps he will note our anxiety that there should be a proper balance and say a word or two about the funding of the housing programmes of the new towns. They have financial problems in exactly the same way as public sector housing in the local authorities is beset with problems. Will he also say a word about whether he will in future allow a little more discretion, particularly in the provision of housing for rent?
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Allan Stewart)I join the hon. Member for Glasgow, Garscadden (Mr. Dewar) in congratulating the hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (Mr. 361 Hogg) on obtaining this debate. We are all sad to hear of the problems that have prevented the hon. Member for Liverpool, Garston (Mr. Loyden) from being here tonight.
The hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth has made his customary well-informed speech on behalf of his constituents. This is an important topic for his constituents and those in other new towns because of the wider role of the new towns in Scotland. That is a role which most hon. Members would agree is changing. For example, Cumbernauld's role in providing a new environment for Glasgow's overspill is now largely historic. So there has been a change in the context in which housing policies in the new towns are formed.
Of course, the new towns in Scotland have a key role as focal points for industrial expansion and inward investment. They have been successful in attracting major expansions and important new investment. There is Motorola in East Kilbride, ACT in Glenrothes, SCI in Irvine, NEC and Shin-Etsu Handotali in Livingston, and Berkley Glasslab in Cumbernauld which the hon. Gentleman will know well.
Housing is important for the inhabitants of the new towns. It is important for ensuring that the new towns remain highly competitive in the tough business of attracting mobile new projects and the expansion of existing companies.
Both hon. Members who have spoken have asked about the trend of Government policy. That was set out by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland in his policy statement of September 1981. He emphasised that new house building in the new towns must be undertaken increasingly by the private sector, with the obvious exception, which the hon. Member for Garscadden mentioned, of special needs, for which new housing to rent would still need to be built by the development corporations.
In pursuit of that objective, the development corporations were asked for detailed proposals on how they could help the private sector to provide the housing required for the continued expansion of the new towns in addition to their particular defined role in the provision of public sector rented housing—a role which includes the management, maintenance and rehabilitation of their existing housing stock in addition to building houses for rent to meet special needs.
The policies have developed in what it is fair to describe as a continuing dialogue between the development corporations, my right hon. Friend and the Department. The policy towards new town housing reflects the Government's general priorities. Scotland has a low percentage of owner-occupied housing. Population trends are changing with the emerging crude surplus of houses over households.
Therefore, it is sensible to concentrate on encouraging public sector tenants to purchase their homes, as the Government did through the Tenants' Rights, Etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 in the previous Parliament and are doing in the Tenants' Rights, Etc. (Scotland) (Amendment) Bill, which is in another place. It makes sense to concentrate capital resources on improvements, meeting identified special needs and encouraging the private sector in joint ventures, particularly in low-cost home ownership.
362 Those are the general policies and the new town development corporations have responded positively to them.
The hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth mentioned house sales and said that the policy had been less controversial in his constituency than in other, more reactionary parts of west central Scotland.
Since 1973, about 11,400 houses have been sold, including 7,500 since the Government came to power in 1979.
§ Mr. DewarI take it that the Minister is using the word "reactionary" in the sense that councils have properly reacted strongly against the distortions and difficulties that have followed implementation of part I of the tenants' rights Act.
§ Mr. StewartNo. I used the word "reactionary" in its correct sense. There are parts of west central Scotland that have not brought themselves up to date and are still looking to past housing policies, but that attitude is changing because of the popularity of the Government's policy.
Housing sales have been an outstanding success in the new towns. Cumbernauld has an owner-occupation rate of about 36 per cent., including private new build. There is no doubt that that has brought benefits to consumers and existing tenants — the development corporations gain extra resources—and it has had a major effect on the environment. There is no doubt that those who buy their own houses have an incentive to improve them. Of course, that is no criticism of those who continue to rent.
The hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth mentioned general needs new build housing and the effects of Government policy. We do not see a need for the development corporations to continue such building. I entirely agree with what the hon. Gentleman said about the need for renting policy to be fair and be seen to be fair.
The trend of policy in recent years, under successive Governments, has been steadily away from the building of substantial amounts of general needs housing—whether by development corporations or local authorities —because of changes in demand, household size and social trends.
There has been no sudden end to public sector general new build, because houses have been in the pipeline and the hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth mentioned the Balloch 2A development, which the Government allowed to go ahead after strong representations from the hon. Gentleman and the development corporation.
General needs housing continues to become available through relets as people move into the private sector, away from the area or into special needs housing. I gave the House some figures on 27 October. There were 689 empty houses for letting in Scotland's new towns of which 185 had been empty for three months or more. A further 963 were also empty but in the process of coming back on to the market because, for example, they were being repaired.
I have mentioned the positive reaction of the development corporations to the Government's encouragement to advance measures to encourage private house building and home ownership in Scottish new towns. Various proposals are being discussed and brought forward under five main headings—joint ventures with private developers, joint ventures with individuals 363 building their own homes, measures to encourage sales of corporation houses, further measures to encourage private buyers, and building for shared ownership. Measures under those headings are being discussed with Cumbernauld and other development corporations.
The hon. Member for Garscadden asked about the eventual transfer to the district councils of the development corporation's housing function. The details are being considered by a working party that includes representatives of COSLA, the Department and the development corporations. Everyone recognises that the development corporations in Scotland have a continuing role in the next few years at least and it will therefore be some time before that transfer can occur.
Housing policy in Scotland's new towns is developing against a background of continuing changes in social 364 attitudes. It must respond to those changes, to population movements and to the needs of employers and potential employers. The Government will continue carefully to consider the representation's that are made by the hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and others about certain aspects of that policy, but I am in no doubt that the flexible and innovative policies that are being pursued, with the emphasis on home ownership that I have described—especially for the first-time buyer— are best suited to meet the challenges and opportunities that face Scotland's new towns.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Adjourned accordingly at eighteen minutes to Four o' clock.