HC Deb 19 December 1985 vol 89 cc254-5W
Sir Reginald Eyre

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take to help owners of Smith houses in the Birmingham area whose houses also suffer from use of shale fill in their foundation.

Mr. Peter Bruinvels

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has now reached a decision on the designation of Smith houses under the Housing Defects Act; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John Patten

The Government have decided that Smith houses should be designated under the Housing Defects Act. As my hon. Friends are aware, the Building Research Establishment has recently carried out a study of Smith houses in Sandwell. The BRE found vertical splitting and cracking, caused by deterioration of the steel handling reinforcement bars. BRE's advice is that this defect can be expected to manifest itself in all Smith houses at some stage. We are therefore satisfied that it is a defect of design or construction with effects on value sufficiently serious to warrant designation of all Smith houses. The BRE's report is being published today and I am placing copies in the Library. Copies are being sent to those authorities which have reported that they own Smith houses.

The Government are also aware of the particular problems faced by owners in the Birmingham area, where colliery shale fill has been used in the foundations of some Smith houses. My Department will be seeking urgent discussions with Birmingham city council, to explore whether any further measures are needed to assist such owners, including whether the council might wish to make a local designation under the Act in respect of those properties.

Under the Act a local designation in respect of a building has to precede any national designation applying to that building.

In order to provide time for the discussions with Birmingham city council (and any other council that believes there may be Smith owners in that position) the formal national designation will not be made straight away. But I can assure Smith home owners that their position will be protected: the designation, when made, will specify today as the "cut-off-date" for assistance under the Act. This means that owners who bought before today's announcement will be within the scope of the Act. They will of course need to satisfy the other requirements of the Act, notably that the house concerned must have been sold, at some stage, by a public sector authority.

I very much recognise the anxieties and concerns Smith home owners have experienced over the last year. I hope that this announcement will help to put their minds at rest, and that they can now look forward to the assistance to which they will be entitled under the Act. I recognise that most owners will wish to have their house repaired. To that end, we will be discussing with the National House Building Council an extension of its approval and warranty scheme for repair methods (operated by its subsidiary, PRC Homes Ltd.) to Smith houses. I hope that repair methods for Smith houses will therefore emerge quickly and that local authorities will be able to offer reinstatement grant wherever repair is the appropriate solution.

The Secretary of State for Wales is taking similar action, in relation to Smith houses in Wales.