HOUSING (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1976

HL Deb 19 October 1976 vol 375 cc1209-17

7.1 p.m.

The MINISTER of STATE, NORTHERN IRELAND OFFICE (Lord Melchett) rose to move, That the draft Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1976, laid before the House on 27th September, be approved. The noble Lord said: My Lords, before I deal with the proposals in the draft order, I should like to go into a little detail about the appalling housing problems which exist in Northern Ireland. These problems are very serious indeed and have been described in detail in the Northern Ireland Housing Condition Survey and the Northern Ireland Household Survey. Many of the housing problems existed before the disturbances of the last few years, but they have been greatly aggravated by recent violence.

Nearly 40 per cent. of the housing stock in Northern Ireland needs to be replaced or is in urgent need of repair and improvement: this is almost twice the percentage in Great Britain. Some 17 per cent. of households are overcrowded. The worst conditions are to be found in the inner areas of Belfast and in rural areas in the West of Northern Ireland. In Belfast, 31,000 houses need to be replaced, 17,000 need urgent repairs and 15,500 require improvement to modern standards. In County Fermanagh no fewer than 41 per cent. of the houses are unfit. Nearly half of the privately rented houses in Northern Ireland are unfit and 7 out of 10 lack at least one basic amenity. The civil disturbances have involved damage to around 25,000 homes; there has been a massive movement of populations; some areas of quite reasonable housing have fallen into dereliction or are in serious decline. These are grave problems which demand new and strong measures specially tailored for Northern Ireland. This draft order is one of the measures which the Government will be bringing forward over the coming months.

The intention to prepare this new legislation was announced in December 1974. Since then there has been a considerable amount of detailed discussion with the Housing Executive, which is the sole public housing authority in Northern Ireland; with the Housing Council which consists of one representative from each of the district councils; with the voluntary housing movement; and with many other bodies. The proposal for the draft order was published at the beginning of June this year and was widely welcomed in Northern Ireland. There has, therefore, been a lengthy period of consultation before this draft order was laid before Parliament.

The draft order contains four major proposals. First, Parts II, III and IV of the draft order deal with housing associations. These Parts consolidate the existing Northern Ireland law with respect to housing associations and introduce in Northern Ireland broadly the same grants and controls which the Housing Act 1974 introduced in Great Britain. Housing associations have not played a major role in the past in Northern Ireland, partly because the available financial assistance was inadequate. The Government are keen to see their role expand, expecially in catering for special groups like the elderly and handicapped, and in enlisting local community action in tackling rehabilitation of existing homes. The major difference between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be that the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland will carry out the functions which the Housing Corporation exercises in Great Britain. The Department will, however, be working closely with the Northern Ireland Committee of the National Federation of Housing Associations. Otherwise, the provisions in the draft order about registration and control of housing associations and about housing association grant, revenue deficit grant and hostel deficit grant follow very closely the Housing Act 1974.

As in Great Britain only associations registered with the Department will be eligible for loans and grants. Broadly, the same criteria for registration will apply in Northern Ireland. Tenants in housing association houses will be eligible for rent rebates, and the rents to be charged by housing associations will be determined by the Department of the Environment, whose policy will be to ensure that such rents are similar to those charged by the Housing Executive. The Department will have extensive powers to deal with associations which do not operate properly. I believe that these provisions are a new charter for the voluntary housing movement in Northern Ireland and that we can look forward to housing associations making a significant contribution over the coming years.

The second major proposal in the draft order is contained in Part V which enables the Housing Executive to declare housing action areas. These will be relatively small areas of existing housing where urgent action is needed to deal with both housing and social stress. Again, the provisions follow closely the equivalent provisions in the Housing Act 1974. It is not, however, intended to have general improvement areas or priority neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland, mainly because of the relatively high number of housing action areas which will have to be tackled. Many of the areas, particularly in Belfast, which will be given housing action area status, are areas where there are a large number of vacant and vandalised houses. The Housing Executive's task will therefore involve urgent action over a five-year period: first, to improve the condition of the housing stock; second, to encourage people to return to these areas; and, third, to encourage existing house owners to upgrade their homes. The speed at which progress can be made in many areas will depend to a large extent on a reduction in the level of violence. A number of pilot rehabilitation areas have already been identified and work has started on acquiring and improving houses. I hope, therefore, that if Parliament approves this draft order, a number of housing action areas can be declared very quickly and thus help to save many houses from further decline.

The third major proposal is contained in Part VI which proposes the introduction of a new structure of grants for house renovation. Again, these grants—repair, intermediate and improvement—are based on those introduced in Great Britain by the Housing Act 1974. There are, however, two very important differences, both of which we believe are warranted by the problems of disrepair and the absence of basic amenities in the housing stock in Northern Ireland. The first difference is that the grants will be payable at 75 per cent. of the eligible expense, as against 50 per cent. in Great Britain, with provision to pay up to 90 per cent. in cases of special hardship in housing action areas. The second difference is that the repair grant will apply throughout North- ern Ireland and not just in housing action and general improvement areas as it does in Great Britain. There are provisions to prevent abuse of the grants and to direct grants to those in greatest need. For example, applicants for improvement and intermediate grant will have to sign certificates of future owner-occupation or of availability for letting and all the grants will only be available in respect of property below prescribed valuation levels. The Government look to these grants to provide a substantial stimulus to individuals to take action to solve their own housing needs.

The fourth major proposal is contained in Part VII, which would give the Housing Executive new powers to take more effective action to deal with unoccupied premises. These are special provisions which have been made necessary by the civil disturbances in Northern Ireland. As I indicated earlier, many thousands of houses have been damaged by explosions, petrol bombs, and vandalism. These houses are frequently left vacant and have to be bricked-up to prevent further vandalism or to protect adjoining property. The people living nearby become unhappy about remaining in the area and start to leave; often they cannot readily sell or rent their homes, and so these houses too become vacant, are vandalised or are bricked-up; with quite alarming speed, an area can decay. In many of these areas, the Housing Executive has been trying to arrest and reverse this slide, but the normal processes of finding the owner of a house and negotiating a price take far too long in circumstances where action needs to be taken in days and weeks rather than months.

Article 66 will give the Executive new powers to ensure that, where necessary, unoccupied premises are secured or demolished. More important are the provisions in Articles 63 to 65, which will enable the Executive to take possession of, and repair and let, an unoccupied house. The Executive will have to be satisfied that the owner is unable or unwilling to occupy or let the house. The Executive must, within a month of taking possession, apply for an order to compulsorily acquire the property. The owner will, of course, be able to object to the compulsory purchase of the house and will be entilted to proper compensation if it is acquired. The Government are satisfied that these powers are needed to help tackle the sad housing conditions in parts of Northern Ireland, but we accept that the unusual powers in Part VII should lapse after five years unless renewed by order.

I have sought to identify the key points in this draft order, but, as noble Lords know, it is a sizeable document of 80 Articles and six Schedules, and I shall be glad to try to answer any questions or to explain in more detail any points which are not clear. The Government are determined to give a very high priority to improving housing conditions in Northern Ireland and we regard such an improvement as an important ingredient in establishing greater stability in the community. This draft order should permit significant progress to be made by encouraging the voluntary housing movement and by enabling more effective action to be taken to preserve the existing housing stock. I commend the order to the House.

Moved, That the draft Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1976, laid before the House on 27th September, be approved.—(Lord Melchett.)

7.12 p.m.

Lord BELSTEAD

My Lords, I believe that this is the first piece of Northern Ireland business that the noble Lord, Lord Melchett, has dealt with in your Lordships' House. I am grateful to him for the clear way in which he has explained this long and complicated order and I hope it will not be too long before he will be able to cast off the shackles of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Bill and be able to concentrate on his job in Northern Ireland.

I welcome the order especially for the provisions relating to the voluntary housing movement. I believe I am right in claiming that in Great Britain voluntary housing associations have been producing about 15 per cent. of new housing. The noble Lord said that the Government are keen to see the voluntary movement expand in Northern Ireland and he referred to the provisions in the order as a new charter for the voluntary movement in the Province. Clearly, there is an opportunity in Northern Ireland for the voluntary housing association movement to move along the same lines as if has done in Great Britain. Perhaps the noble Lord can say at what level the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland believes that grants will be made to voluntary associations under Part IV of the order.

I should also like to welcome the provisions in Part V which deal with the housing action areas and which the noble Lord explained in some detail, and I was particularly glad that he said that the housing action areas, or some of them, are to be designated very soon. Lord Melchett mentioned the Housing Conditions Survey which was published just over 18 months ago and which I remember showed one in five of the total stock of houses in Northern Ireland as statutorily unfit compared with less than one in ten in England and Wales. The noble Lord considerably amplified that piece of information which I had, and I must say that what he said in that part of his speech gives one cause to be deeply concerned and to realise that the order is most necessary.

It is fair to claim that in the last few years housing policy in Northern Ireland has been to try to build as quickly as possible new houses on new sites, and of course in the process many older houses have deteriorated seriously. I am aware that the Housing Executive is now concentrating more on redevelopment and housing improvement, and perhaps the noble Lord can say what sort of level of expenditure the Department envisages to finance the powers of the Housing Executive under Part V and, so far as it may be relevant, Part VI of the order.

There must surely be encouragement, as much encouragement as possible, of owner occupation in Northern Ireland if housing policy is to be really successful, and I think that that was implicit in what the noble Lord said. I believe that the number of new houses built in the Province fell from 7,500 in 1971 to only 5,000 in 1975 and it would be interesting to know whether the total housing stock in Northern Ireland is now increasing or decreasing. It was very welcome, I thought, when last January the then Secretary of State, Mr. Merlyn Rees, announced that he would not reduce the amount of money available for the home loans scheme for people unable to get loans from building societies. In this context, I should be interested to know what is the take-up of mortgages in Northern Ireland this year and whether people have difficulty in obtaining loans for houses in particular areas where terrorism is especially prevalent.

The fourth major proposal with which Lord Melchett dealt was Part VIII, dealing with unoccupied premises, and the noble Lord will soon be becoming much more familiar than are many of your Lordships with the appalling tragedy in Northern Ireland where, despite all the efforts of the Housing Executive, one finds areas of housing, to which Lord Melchett referred, where the houses are bricked up, where nobody dare go and where very often gradually the tide of bricked-up houses creeps more and more in a particular direction, according to which sectarian movement is the stronger in that area. One can only hope that such movements as the women's peace movement will have some success now in Northern Ireland because, whatever the provisions of this order may be, this problem to which I have attempted to refer is, I suppose, the most deeply ingrained in the whole of Northern Ireland. If, while Lord Melchett is working there, he and his colleagues and his Secretary of State can do something to overcome this intractable problem, they will have earned the gratitude of everybody in the British Isles.

7.18 p.m.

Lord MELCHETT

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Belstead, for his welcome of the order which, I think it is fair to say, has received a fairly unanimous welcome throughout Northern Ireland. I certainly share his enthusiasm for the potential which the voluntary housing movement has in Northern Ireland and I share his hope that it will play a very significant part in future in the Province. The noble Lord asked me about the level of grants payable under Part VI. The grants will be higher than those available in Great Britain; 75 per cent. of eligible expense, with provision for up to 90 per cent. in cases of special need in housing action areas. That compares with 50 per cent. up to 75 per cent. in Great Britain.

On the question of expenditure, to which the noble Lord referred, the main items of expenditure under the order will be, first, the grants from the Department of the Environment to housing associations under Part IV; secondly, the Housing Executive's costs on acquiring and improving houses, in housing action areas and on environmental works, which will arise under Part V; thirdly, the Housing Executive's costs in paying repair, intermediate and improvement grants under Part VI; and, fourthly, the Executive's costs in dealing with unoccupied premises, which arise under the final part of the order, Part VII. All the Executive's costs will in effect be recouped by the Department. The expenditure on these items depends to a large extent on the response to the new incentives by housing associations and private owners of private property and, as I said in my opening speech, we hope that one of the effects of the order will be to encourage people to repair and look after their own homes to a greater extent than has been the case in the past.

The total current public expenditure in Northern Ireland on new house building, housing subsidies, grants to housing associations and action to improve the existing housing stock is in the region of £150 million a year. The balance will shift and is shifting marginally over the coming years largely from new building to action on existing stock. As the noble Lord said, and it is clear from the short time I have been able to spend in Northern Ireland, gradually the expenditure on new housing that has gone on in recent years may have been somewhat to the detriment of the existing housing stock. It is the Government's desire to see that emphasis shifts slightly over the coming year.

Under Part IV there is no prescribed percentage grant for housing associations. As in Great Britain the housing association grant will be calculated on the basis of the net cost of each project. Under Part V the Department will meet the Executive's costs in housing action areas and the noble Lord might like to know that the financial relationship between the Government and the Executive is in the process of being altered and a draft order will be laid before Parliament in the new year.

The noble Lord also asked me about the housing stock. There are around 460,000 houses in Northern Ireland. Completions in 1973 were 10,557, in 1974 10,073 and in 1975 8,919; so there was a slight drop in 1975. Completions for 1976 are I understand, likely to be up again in the region of 9,000 houses. Comprehensive information about the number of houses lost from the housing stock is not available and would be very difficult to acquire. But the annual figure is believed to be well below the number of new houses built each year, so actual loss from the housing stock is not overtaking the number of houses built.

The noble Lord also asked about mortgages. Building societies have been reluctant to lend on older houses and in areas which have been badly affected by civil disturbance. The Housing Executive administers a home loans scheme, to which the noble Lord referred, designed to help people who cannot get a loan from a building society. The Executive has lent £22 million to date. Since the beginning of this year the Executive has had about £600,000 available for lending, and I understand that this is proving to be adequate to meet the demand which I think the noble Lord would agree is quite encouraging.

My Lords, on the final point which the noble Lord made, I entirely agree with him that a lot of the serious problems of unoccupied housing and the fact that that can creep from one area to another will only be solved if the civil disturbances come to an end. I agree with him that we all hope that the feeling which is epitomised in the women's movement for peace in Northern Ireland continues to have what I think everyone would agree is already a very good effect on the problems in the Province.