§ The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker)My right honourable friend the Minister for Housing and Planning has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
My right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister will publish for public consultation on 30 July a paper on park home implied terms and written statement.
The Housing Bill includes several clauses that improve the rights of park home owners. These include two powers allowing the appropriate national authority (Secretary of State for England and National Assembly for Wales in relation to Wales) to make secondary legislation relating to the implied terms and the written statement.
Provision has been made for the first exercise of the power to specify new implied terms, and to amend and delete existing ones, to have retrospective effect. It is therefore vital that we address all the important issues in the first exercise of the power. An affirmative resolution approving the order from both Houses of Parliament will be necessary.
In the consultation paper we have proposed 22 changes to the implied terms on which we have already consulted informally. We propose, for example, amendments on, among other things, further tightening of the resale process, increased transparency in the payment system and more residents' rights through the quiet enjoyment of the pitch.
The Housing Bill contains a re-enactment of the power of the appropriate national authority to prescribe requirements with which written statements must comply. The consultation paper proposes several changes to the requirements taking account of the proposed implied terms.
14WSCopies of the paper are being sent to a wide range of interested parties, including local authorities, trade and resident associations, and others with an Interest in this issue. The closing date for responses is 22 October.
Copies of the paper will also be placed in the Libraries of the House, and will be available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at www.odpm.gov.uk.