§ Mr. TraceyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the results of his survey of right to buy performance in London; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChopeLast November I announced that I would be reviewing the extent of right to buy delays in London and the effect of the tenant's sanction measures which came into force in March 1989.
The tables show London boroughs' right to buy activity during September 1989. A total of 21,886 cases were
64W
Right to buy survey of London boroughs (i) Right to buy caseload September 1989 Borough New Applications RTB2 Notices Outstanding S125 Notices Outstanding Completed Sales Completions Outstanding Memo: RTB Sales 1979–89 (Sep) City 7 0 5 17 242 1,160 Barking 108 0 11 103 900 19,730 Barnet 65 0 13 56 381 15,073 Bexley 29 0 20 30 949 n/a Brent 56 79 1,184 65 262 12,107 Bromley 65 0 10 56 205 16,963 Camden 127 0 674 67 1,352 11,224 Croydon 67 0 0 49 195 15,673 awaiting completion and boroughs had failed to issue 12,811 RTB2 and S125 notices within the statutory time limits. More than half the overdue notices were in Lambeth, Hackney, Brent, Southwark and Hounslow.
The information collected about the use of the new tenant's sanction measures shows that 12 boroughs received no notices of delay, but tenant's sanction notices have been used extensively in boroughs where the number of overdue cases is high. In a single month, 18 boroughs received 271 initial notices (RTB6) and 53 operative notices of delay (RTB8). Another borough estimated that it had received 1,305 initial notices and 780 operative notices between March and November.
The most common reason for serving initial notices was delay in completing sales, followed by delays in advising tenants of the price and other terms of sale (S125 notice) and by delays in confirming the existence of a right to buy (RTB2 notice).
The Department has been receiving monthly reports from 12 monitored boroughs. The number of overdue RTB2 and S125 notices in these boroughs fell by 25 per cent. between March and September. The measures introduced last March have not only given tenants a sanction against unreasonable delays, but they have encouraged local authorities to improve their right to buy performance.
I have decided that monthly monitoring should continue for Brent, Camden, Hackney, Haringey, Hounslow, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Richmond, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. Hammersmith, Waltham Forest, Ealing and Hillingdon, not monitored at the moment, are being asked to provide right to buy information for three months so that I can decide whether they should be monitored.
65W
Borough New Applications RTB2 Notices Outstanding S125 Notices Outstanding Completed Sales Completions Outstanding Memo: RTB Sales 1979–89 (Sep) Ealing 59 69 322 67 605 12,451 Enfield 93 11 41 93 n/a 6,212 Greenwich 54 7 180 88 900 12,551 Hackney 104 705 1,338 98 n/a 11,828 Hammersmith 57 0 474 37 1,585 11,993 Haringey 122 91 37 81 507 13,741 Harrow 30 0 0 26 60 12,347 Havering 96 0 0 48 171 12,944 Hillingdon 69 25 334 40 221 11,852 Hounslow 64 101 808 39 539 13,289 Islington 148 45 248 112 1,451 12,297 Kensington 21 0 83 26 280 1679 Kingston 17 0 19 22 135 11,515 Lambeth 173 1,085 1,899 31 1,861 11,211 Lewisham 118 111 415 157 1,833 14,987 Merton 35 0 n/a 31 387 12,534 Newham 76 70 650 87 706 13,915 Redbridge 90 n/a n/a 49 431 n/a Richmond 26 0 35 24 137 12,394 South wark 258 80 913 119 98 13,205 Sutton 31 0 141 37 165 2,865 Tower Hamlets 84 n/a n/a 65 n/a 11,242 Waltham Forest 39 2 427 71 n/a 12,790 Wandsworth 103 0 4 132 2,393 17,576 Westminster 46 16 29 132 2,935 13,233 Total 2,437 2,497 10,314 2,155 21,886 1101,581 n/a = Not available. 1 Denotes an incomplete total. Notes
(i) Bexley and Redbridge sell properties under the general consent rather than the right to buy legislation. Information here is based on equivalent stages to the right to buy process.
(ii) Tower Hamlets were unable to provide complete information due to industrial action. Figures are for 4 of their neighbourhoods.
(iii) Cumulative right to buy sales are from the table 2 statistics on right to buy and other council house sales.
Right to buy survey of London boroughs (ii) Right to buy delay notices Borough Reason for RTB6 Number Counter Notices Issued Number Counter Notices issued RTB6s received RTB2 delay S125 delay Completion delay RTB6s outstanding RTB8s received RTB8s outstanding Brent 28 1 17 10 27 2 2 1 1 Bromley 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Camden 46 2 2 42 20 26 6 2 4 Ealing 11 1 2 8 11 0 1 1 0 Enfield 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Greenwich 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 Hackney 70 4 30 36 18 95 23 6 49 Hammersmith 8 0 6 2 4 4 0 0 0 Hillingdon 8 0 8 1 3 5 4 0 0 Hounslow 12 1 5 5 6 16 10 10 12 Islington 30 0 5 25 10 29 2 3 9 Lewisham 30 1 1 28 24 6 3 2 1 Newham 7 0 6 1 7 0 1 0 0 Richmond 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Sutton 8 0 8 0 7 5 0 0 0 Tower Hamlets 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 Waltham Forest 4 0 3 1 4 2 0 0 0 Wandsworth> 3 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 Total 271 10 95 165 147 190 53 26 77 Notes:
(i) the following boroughs received no delay notices: City, Barking, Barnet, Bexley, Croydon, Harrow, Havering, Kensington, Kingston, Merton, Redbridge and Westminster.
(ii) Lambeth estimated that 1,305 RTB6s and 780 RTB8s were received between March and November 1989, ie 145 and 65 per month on average respectively.
(iii) Haringey and Southwark were unable to provide information in the form requested.
(iv) The figures for Tower Hamlets relate to 4 of their 7 neighbourhoods.
66W