HC Deb 26 October 1988 vol 139 cc400-1

Lords amendment: No. 58, in page 41, line 10, after "force" insert

"as follows—

  1. (a) section 65 and section 68 (so far as relating to Schedule 7) and this section and that Schedule, shall come into force on the day this Act is passed;
  2. (b) sections 33 to 37, 62, 63, and 67 and section 68 (so far as relating to Schedule 8 and to the entries in Schedule 10 in respect of—
    1. (i) sections 62(11) to (13), 151, 200, 254, 255, 296 and 297 of; and
    2. (ii) provisions of Schedules 13 and 14 to,
    the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987), and Schedule 8 and, in Schedule 10, those entries shall come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed;
  3. (c) section 68 (so far as relating to the entry in Schedule 10 relating to paragraph (1)(b) of Schedule 16 to the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987) and that entry shall come into force on 1st April 1989;
  4. (d) the remaining provisions shall come into force."

Read a Second time.

Mr. Home Robertson

I beg to move, as an amendment to the Lords amendment, amendment (a), in subsection (a), leave out 'section 65 and'.

Mr. Speaker

With this we may consider amendments (b) to (c) and Government amendment (d) to the Lords amendment.

Mr. Home Robertson

Amendment (a) would retain the requirement for a statutory instrument on rent limitation for the SSHA, new towns and housing associations, which would be removed automatically and immediately, without further consultation or debate, if the Lords amendment were implemented.

Amendment (b) would similarly provide for further consultation about and consideration of the abolition of the cost floor for sales of councils houses, and would enable us to think about its impact on local authorities and their tenants. Under the Lords amendment it would be implemented automatically only two months after the Bill came into effect.

Amendment (c) would require a statutory instrument on the sales of new town housing land, which I know is a matter of particular concern to my hon. Friend the Member for East Kilbride (Mr. Ingram).

These are all contentious issues and require proper consideration and consultation with the people who will be affected before the details of the implementation are finalised. The Bill originally provided for such consideration before regulations are made and Lords amendment No. 58 would provide a short cut for Ministers. They should not he allowed to get away with that, and the House should insist on being allowed to return to these matters and to give full consideration to the regulations before they come into effect.

It being Ten o'clock, the debate stood adjourned.