HC Deb 10 November 1976 vol 919 cc169-70W
Mr. Welsh

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment which working parties are currently being sponsored by his Department with regard to housing in England and Wales; and if he will list the subject areas with which they are dealing.

Mr. Armstrong

I append a list of working parties and advisory groups considering aspects of housing policy:—The Housing Policy Review Advisory Group, which advises on the general review of housing policy. The Joint Advisory Committee on Building Society Mortgage Finance, which considers issues relating to the rôle of building societies in the housing market. The Housing Services Advisory Group, which is considering the form and rôle of the Housing Services Advisory Unit, and the field which the housing service should embrace, and is providing guidance on the handling of specific issues. The Study Group on Programmes of Social Ownership and Renovation of Council Dwellings, which is examining programmes proposed by English local authorities for municipalisation and the renovation of council dwellings, and assessing priorities within these programmes. The Study Group is assisted by a working party. The Working Party on the Housing Cost Yardstick, which is examining future arrangements for cost control of local authority housebuilding. The Action Group on London Housing. The Advisory Committee on Rent Rebates and Rent Allowances. The Mobile Homes Review, which is looking into the problems of mobile homes' residents and the contribution mobile homes can make towards meeting the nation's housing needs. The Construction and Housing Research Advisory Council, which advises on the requirements for, and possible applications of, research and development in the fields of construction and housing. The Advisory Group of Chief Officers on Local Authority Housebuilding, which is advising on a code of procedures for local authority housebuilding in the light of the NEDO Report "The Public Client and the Construction Industries".

Where the work of these groups affects housing policy in Wales and Scotland, there is liaison with, and in some cases participation by, the Welsh and Scottish Offices.