HC Deb 28 June 1995 vol 262 cc655-7W
Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the finance management and policy review of the Housing Corporation. [31650]

Mr. Curry

On 14 December 1994 I informed the House that as part of the Government's programme of regular five-yearly finance management and policy reviews—FMPRs—of non-departmental public bodies, my Department would be carrying out a review of the Housing Corporation in 1995.

The prior options stage of the FMPR has been completed, and I have placed a copy of the report in the Library.

The purpose of the prior options stage was to assess whether the corporation's functions remained necessary for the achievement of the Government's policies, and whether there was scope for privatising, contracting out or transferring all or part of its functions to another body.

The Government's White Paper, "Our Future Homes", indicates the Government's commitment to a social rented sector, and sets out the Government's plans to enable a wider range of landlords to provide social rented housing, alongside housing associations. Systems for allocating Government subsidy, monitoring the provision of dwellings and overseeing the operation of social landlords therefore continue to be needed. Against this background, the Government accept the prior options review conclusions, that the Housing Corporation should continue to be responsible for the funding and regulation of housing associations in England; that the corporation should take on responsibility for payment of grant to and supervision of the proposed new social landlords, including landlords receiving transferred local authority stock; and that non-departmental public body status remains appropriate to the corporation's functions.

The review also recommends that the Housing Association tenants' ombudsman service should be put on a statutory footing. As announced in the Housing White Paper, the Government accept this, and my Department will be consulting shortly on detailed proposals for legislation.

The Housing Corporation accepts and will take forward a number of other operational recommendations in the report. In particular, it will review the work it does on promotion of housing associations and focus it further on promoting the efficient and effective use of housing resources; develop improved liaison with county councils on care in the community and other issues; and confine its future monitoring of housing associations' employment practices to matters in relation to which the corporation has a statutory duty, under the Race Relations Act 1976; and expose a number of activities to competition from the private sector, where this is found to be relevant.

The review identifies a number of particular issues to be examined in the second stage of the FMPR, including the corporation's approach to registration and regulation in the context of the prospective introduction of new social landlords; the procedures for the appointment of corporation board members and for dealing with potential conflict of interest arising from board members' involvement in other housing-related activities; arrangements for liaison between the corporation and Government regional offices; and the scope for contracting out or market testing support services within the corporation.

I am grateful for contributions received in the course of the review from the local authority associations, the Chartered Institute of Housing, the National Federation of Housing Associations, individual housing associations, and many other bodies and individuals. The report contains a list of the contributions. Copies of individual contributions are available through the DOE central library.

The review has underlined the importance of the corporation's work, and the effective way it is carried out. This is greatly to the credit of the staff of the corporation and to the chairman and members of the board, and I should like to place on record the Government's gratitude for this.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the board of the Housing Corporation. [31651]

Mr. Curry

Three members of the board of the Housing Corporation are due to retire in the next few months—the right Rev. Wilfred Wood, Mrs. Stella Clarke and Mr. David Cochrane, after nine, seven and 12 years of service respectively. I am extremely grateful to them for the energy and abilities which they have brought to the corporation.

In appointing new members to the board, I wish to be able to consider the widest possible range of candidates. I should, therefore, welcome nominations and expressions of interest in being appointed to these posts.

The Housing Corporation is responsible for the funding and regulation of over 2,000 registered housing associations, and has an annual budget of some £1,750 million. Membership of the corporation board calls for ability and judgment of the highest level. In making these appointments, I particularly wish to consider candidates with expertise also in the fields of urban regeneration, regulatory or other quasi-judicial processes, special needs housing, or academic study of housing issues. I will consider candidates with or without previous involvement in a housing association.