HL Deb 17 January 2002 vol 630 cc1241-3

7.15 p.m.

The Minister of State, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (Lord Falconer of Thoroton) rose to move, That the draft deregulation order laid before the House on 29th November be approved [8th Report from the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee].

The noble and learned Lord said: My Lords, the order will amend Section 135 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, allowing local authorities on a housing transfer programme up to two financial years in which to complete a housing transfer. The legislation currently requires local authorities on a housing transfer programme to complete the transfer within one financial year.

My department has fully complied with the required procedure. The order was laid before the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee of this House and the Deregulation Committee of the other House on 31st January 2001 for initial scrutiny. Reports were made by both committees confirming that they were satisfied with the proposed procedural change. A small amendment of a technical nature in reference to the drafting of the order was accepted by the department and the draft order was amended accordingly. The order was subsequently laid for final scrutiny on 28th November 2001 and a Motion to approve the order was passed in the other House on 19th December 2001. Passing this order today will complete the process.

Housing transfers or disposals, as they are referred to, involve the sale of a local authority's housing stock to a registered social landlord. Where such a transfer involves more than 499 dwellings over a five-year period to the same landlord, it requires a place in the annual housing transfer programme.

The purpose of the order is to improve the administration of the programme, making transfer a more time-efficient and cost-effective process for all those involved.

Transfers are complex and time consuming, involving a range of private sector organisations, including funders, solicitors, professional consultants and advisers, surveyors, and RSLs. All of these groups offer a service to the local authority and new landlord which is potentially adversely affected by the current requirement to complete a transfer by the end of the financial year. The year-end pressure increases costs, as additional personnel are required to keep pace with the workload. Also, because of the limited period, the majority of new landlords seek funding at much the same time as each other, which we believe may impact adversely on the terms of the loans.

The new arrangements contained in the order will overcome this. From the current year's programme local authorities will have up to two financial years in which to complete transfer, enabling them to develop their proposals further and to work to more realistic timetables. The transfers will be spread out over a two-year period, alleviating the bottleneck currently experienced in February and March when a large number of local authorities are trying to complete at the same time. This will lead to a more efficient use of personnel, as authorities will not be competing for their services and, in turn, may bring down the costs of the transfer and the terms of the loans which may previously under the current arrangements have been adversely affected. The department will agree timetables for each transfer with local authorities to ensure that all transfers do not slip towards the end of the second financial year.

This provision is particularly timely, as transfers are now taking place in larger urban authorities with local authorities and new landlords are being required to develop and implement far more complex schemes. I commend the order to the House. I beg to move.

Moved, That the draft deregulation order laid before the House on 29th November be approved [8th Report from the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee].—(Lord Falconer of Thoroton.)

Baroness Hanham

My Lords, had this been yesterday, I should have said to the noble and learned Lord that the transfer of property from local authorities to RSLs provides a good reason why RSLs should be on the face of the Homelessness Bill. But as it is not yesterday, all I shall say is that this seems to be an extremely sensible measure and I have no possible comment to make on it.

Lord Shutt of Greetland

My Lords, I, too, am thoroughly supportive of the order. I have "lived the experience". In the municipal year immediately prior to taking my place in this House, I was the cabinet member for housing and community services of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council. We went through this very experience, and concluded it in that year.

We were always watching the clock and asking whether we could get the transfer completed within the year. There was the whole business of working up the scheme, consultation with tenants, the decision as to when the ballot should be held—we had to be careful not to hold it during the holiday period—and so forth.

This is an important matter. The order is about attempting to achieve a quantum leap in the country's housing stock and to put some extra resources in so that many houses can be improved. It is important that the funding packages are available from those who will lend the new shadow board, then the board, the money, and so forth. Therefore, the idea that there is an artificial bunching of several councils which are all up against this difficulty, and the whole business of it all having to be done and the "scrum" taking place in February and March is not good news. Therefore, I am thoroughly supportive of the order.

On Question, Motion agreed to.