§ Mr. Steen:To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will take steps to allow parity of access to council housing lists between council officials and elected councillors. [143850]
§ Keith Hill:The Homelessness Act 2002 made changes to the legislation governing the allocation of accommodation by local authorities (Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996) which came into force on 31 January this year. As a result, local authorities can exclude persons the housing waiting list in only very limited circumstances: namely, if they are certain persons from abroad (who are ineligible for an allocation) or if the authority has determined that they have been guilty of unacceptable behaviour serious enough to make them unsuitable to be a tenant (who may be treated as ineligible).
Elected councillors are bound by the Local Authorities Model Code of Conduct (SI 2001 No. 3575). This does not restrict members' access to housing waiting lists, but does require them to register any interest that they have in land within the authority's area (including tenancies of council property). The Code also requires members to ensure that they do not use their position as a member improperly, to confer on or secure for themselves an advantage or disadvantage, or do anything that compromises the impartiality of those who work for the authority.