§ Mr. HeddleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to monitor the publicity being sent by local authorities to their tenants regarding the provisions of the Housing Bill; and what action he is taking to counteract misleading and inaccurate information.
§ Mr. TrippierI am grateful to hon. Members and members of the public who bring examples of misleading information about the Housing Bill to our attention. Prior to Royal Assent, we have made available copies of factual leaflets on the main provisions in the Bill; and I and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State have written to all tenants in the six proposed housing action trust areas to explain the Government's proposals. We intend to issue a considerable amount of explanatory information about the provisions in the Housing Bill in the months following Royal Assent, and we are making grants to the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and to the Federation of Independent Advice Centres to train advice workers about the Bill. It is for local authorities to take equal responsibility for what they publish. Parliament has now approved the code of recommended practice on local authority publicity which established a benchmark against which local authorities are required to judge their proposed publicity.