§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the policy of his Department towards the issue of distraint warrants for rent arrears, in view of the issue of 71 such warrants by Wychavon District Council just before Christmas.
§ Mr. ArmstrongThe methods used to recover rent arrears must be a matter for each local authority to decide, in the light of circumstances, as part of its general management responsibility. Distraint is only one of a range of measures, short of eviction, which are available for this purpose and should certainly never be used indiscriminately or without careful and sympathetic attention to the circumstances of the families concerned.