HL Deb 20 November 2001 vol 628 cc1000-2

2.52 p.m.

Lord Greaves

asked her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to bring forward proposals to assist with housing problems in areas such as east Lancashire, which have large numbers of cheap and substandard terraced houses many of which are standing empty.

The Minister of State, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)

My Lords, having recently visited east Lancashire, I fully recognise the severity of the housing problems in that area. The Government already support a substantial programme of local government expenditure on private sector housing renewal, and we will soon put legislation before Parliament to allow authorities much greater freedom to develop their strategies.

My department has also just received a proposal for the creation of a market renewal fund. I cannot, of course, commit the Government to pursuing that approach, but I welcome the work that is being done collectively by local authorities and housing providers in the North and the Midlands on that issue.

Lord Greaves

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that interesting and intriguing Answer. The problem is that in many parts of England, the bottom end of the housing market has simply collapsed. Houses can be bought extremely cheaply or, in many cases, are worthless. The Minister is quoted as saying in a local paper, the Pendle Citizen, on 8th November that the sub-region has, consistently missed out on cash from central government and European union regeneration schemes". Will he confirm that that is his view? Will he also comment on the fact that in my local authority area of Pendle, where I live, the amount of money available for private sector housing regeneration work was cut by a massive 30 per cent this year compared to last year, and, since the mid-1980s, has fallen by about 70 per cent in cash terms?

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

My Lords, yes, I confirm the quotation. I do not know what are the precise figures for money available for private sector expenditure by local authorities on housing in the area identified by the noble Lord, but I shall write to him about them.

The overall position is that English local authorities presently provide about £400 million a year for private sector renewal. I accept that in the east Lancashire area, which I visited, local authorities have insufficient money to deal with the range of private sector housing problems—although the problem does not involve just housing but must be considered across the board. The problem involves housing, bringing jobs to the area, providing economic prosperity and working together to try to find solutions. One of the most impressive things I found when I visited six local authority areas in east Lancashire was that they were all working together with the private sector and other statutory providers to seek solutions to what are deep-seated problems.

Baroness Knight of Collingtree

My Lords, to what extent do the Government advise local authorities to consider the parts of their areas that are amply provided with terraced houses that are falling into disrepair and are unused before they give permission for further housing to be built?

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

My Lords, the planning system is intended to deal with that issue. In our planning policy, we have sought to promote the idea that local authorities consider housing strategically throughout their area. They should consider what social housing and private sector stock exists and address the housing needs of the community as a whole, so that when they consider which houses in their possession to renovate and which planning permissions to grant, they have a strategic view of the community's needs.

Lord Brookman

My Lords, my noble and learned friend the Minister will be aware of the work that my noble friend Lord Clarke of Hampstead—he is a good friend—is doing in Burnley. Perhaps the Minister had Burnley in mind when he mentioned visiting that area. Does he agree with my noble friend Lord Clarke that demolition of houses is a priority and that money should be provided to get the housing catastrophe into some order?

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

My Lords, I am aware of the good work that my noble friend Lord Clarke is doing in Burnley, and I should like to pay tribute to the amount of time and effort that he has put into his report.

When one visits east Lancashire—and other parts of the country—it is perfectly plain that there are significant areas in which substantial abandonment of housing is occurring. Once abandonment starts, it destroys communities. In some places, demolition and clearance will be the right course; but not in others. Each place will have a different solution, and the right thing is to identify what is the particular solution for the particular area.

Baroness Hanham

My Lords, does the Minister realise the concern, especially in rural authorities, about the number of new properties that will have to be provided? Will he tell us how the Government will first deal with the 750,000 properties that are lying empty, before forcing authorities to provide far more properties than they require, especially in the green belt?

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

My Lords, we are conscious that a proper approach must be taken to releasing land for housing. That is why, in national planning guidance PPG 3, we have instituted a policy that brownfield land should be used first, and only if no brownfield land is available should greenfield sites be used.

The 750,000 empty properties represent an important issue. We have introduced several measures to seek to encourage the owners of empty properties to bring them back into use. Those measures have not been wholly successful, because it is frequently difficult to identify who is the owner of a property and many such properties are in areas in which there is total market failure—that is, a significant number of houses are being abandoned and no one wants to live in the area because there are so many voids.

The problem of empty properties is not simply about persuading owners to renovate them; it involves precisely what the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, referred to in his Question: trying to revive the market—often in the areas of lowest income—to try to provide proper communities.

Baroness Hanham

My Lords, the Minister did not answer my question.

The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Williams of Mostyn)

My Lords, we have reached the 24th minute, and there is another important Question.