HC Deb 07 January 2004 vol 416 cc240-1
1. Dr. Brian Iddon (Bolton, South-East) (Lab)

Which housing association or registered social landlord chief executive receives the highest remuneration; and how much they will receive in 2003—04. [145884]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Yvette Cooper)

Figures for this year will be published in housing associations' annual accounts. Survey results for last year show that the average salary for the chief executives of the main RSLs was £88,000, but that the highest remuneration was £213,000 for the chief executive of Sanctuary. We are concerned that housing associations should not be promoting excessive and unjustifiable pay and severance packages, and my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has written to the Housing Corporation to ask for further work on this issue.

Dr. Iddon

I hope that my hon. Friend is aware that some former directors of housing are receiving considerable increases in salary, following stock transfer. I am aware of one who was earning about £70,000 as a director of housing, who is now earning double that figure—more than £140,000. Does my hon. Friend agree that, in the same way that some chief executives of private enterprises are now being held accountable to their shareholders, chief executives of housing associations should be held accountable by their tenants?

Yvette Cooper

My hon. Friend is right to suggest that RSLs need to justify chief executives' salaries to tenants, who arc entitled to question some of the remuneration packages, and particularly some of the severance payments, that have been agreed. Taking those decisions is a matter for the RSL boards—housing associations are independent organizations—but there should be tenants on the boards and those tenants should be fully informed of the implications not simply for that RSL, but for the whole sector if irresponsible decisions are taken.

Sir Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield) (Con)

May I say from the Opposition Benches that I fully support the concern that has just been expressed by the hon. Member for Bolton, South-East (Dr. Iddon)? May I add that I am deeply concerned that many local authorities, district borough councils, are being forced—I use that word intentionally—to transfer their housing stock to social housing landlords, bearing in mind that many councillors and many, many tenants are opposed to that for the very sort of reason that the hon. Gentleman has expressed so clearly to the House? May we have further assurances from the Government that local authorities will not be forced to transfer because of the way that the Government are allocating resources?

Yvette Cooper

The hon. Gentleman is completely wrong. Local authorities are not being forced to do anything of the sort. The matter is up to a vote of local tenants, and that is as it should be. Local tenants should have the vote. Local tenants should have the say in what they think should happen to their local social housing because we must ensure that social housing is provided in the best interests of those tenants.

Mr. Ken Purchase (Wolverhampton, North-East) (Lab/Co-op)

But is not the whole gambit of transferring stock bound to lead to the payment of inflated salaries to the very people who are currently administering our housing stock, who will be in charge of our rented housing stock in that new situation? Do we not already have in place the necessary checks and balances? Councillors are elected by council tenants and ratepayers, creating the checks and balances required to keep those things in order.

Yvette Cooper

My hon. Friend will know that there have been concerns about increases in the pay of local authority chief executives, on which my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has expressed his views very clearly, so we must recognise that all sectors—whether the not-for-profit sector, the private sector or the public sector—need to exercise restraint and responsibility in setting pay settlements, and they certainly need to do so with senior salaries because they are the ones that set the example for the entire sector and that can have implications right across the sector. Particularly when we are talking about social housing, where the income comes from the rents of those who are on a low income, we must ensure that those services are provided in the interests of tenants, not of the providers.