MPs reject 13 Lords amendments to the Housing & Planning Bill

[Mark Brown]

Last night (Tuesday) MPs voted to reject 13 amendments to the Housing & Planning
Bill demanded by the House of Lords.


Despite many eloquent and damning criticisms of the bill from opposition party
MPs, the government whips managed to get all of their MPs to back the bill.  The
Housing Bill will return to the Lords later on Wednesday, where peers, led by
Lib Dem Baroness Williams, are expected to try to reinstate some of the
amendments.


One of the main criticisms has been that detail on statistics to back up the
government case promised by the housing and planning minster Brandon Lewis last
Autumn in the House have still not materialised, despite also demands for these
details from the All-Party Public Accounts Select Committee in their report in
February.


Many contributions stood out in criticising this wide ranging bill, notably from
Clive Betts - chair of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee and
David Lamy MP were particularly scathing.  BLamy referred to the Chartered
Institute for Housing report which says that as a result of this bill, social
housing stock will fall by 370,000 by 2020.  He also revealed thayt councils are
currently spending £623,000 every day on bed and breakfast accommodation for
families and individuals in acute housing need for temporary shelter. This
figure for the last financial year was £227.5 million


Eloquent opposition to the planning aspects of the bill also, which sees a major
upheaval of the planning system almost through the backdoor.






Housing Bill: 13 House Of Lords Amendments Rejected As Government Defends
‘Pernicious’ ‘Pay To Stay’
by Graeme Demianyk, Huffington Post
4/5/2016
Ref:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/housing-bill-rejected_uk_5729bacbe4b0ade291a10e73


The Government has seen off attempts to have to its flagship housing reforms

demolished as it made a fierce defence of forcing council tenants to “pay to
stay”.


Ministers were handed 13 amendments to its Housing and Planning Bill from the
House of Lords - a significantly higher total than is typical.


But the Commons blocked the changes, with the Government winning five that were
forced to a vote.


Critics warn the cumulative effects of the Bill will fatally undermine the
social housing sector, while threatening council house tenants with higher rents
and subsidising well-off homebuyers.


But Government says it is poised to deliver the “largest programme of house
building for a generation”.


Among the Lords’ amendments were four to limit the impact of “pay to stay” -
charging council house tenants full market rates if parents or couples earn
above £30,000 between them, or £40,000 in London.


The Lords wanted to make the policy voluntary, increase the threshold and rate
at which the extra charge was levied, and link the premium to inflation.



Labour’s Shadow Local Government Minister, Roberta Blackman Woods, described the
policy as “pernicious” and a “tax on tenants and aspiration”.


She said: “It will lead to many people having to leave their homes or increase
their levels of personal indebtedness.


“The Minister should have talked to the group of tenants from Hackney whom I met
a few weeks ago.


“They are not high-income families. How could anyone describe as high a
household income of £17,000 and £23,000 inside London; or £12,000 and £18,000
outside London?”


But Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said a voluntary scheme would “substantially
reduce the revenue” to tackle the deficit, and that it would be unfair if
councils applied the policy differently.


He went on: “We do not suggest that people over that income should not stay in
​their home, or that they should move to private rented accommodation.


“We are saying that as people earn more money, they should contribute a little
more into the system.


“That is reasonable, and it ensures that we make the best use of those
properties for the people who need them most.”


Other changes rejected included moderating state subsidies for Starter Homes,
which start at £450,000 in London, and watering down forced sale of council
housing.


Blackman Woods said: “The Bill does little to solve our housing crisis, yet will
make things a whole lot worse for the supply of genuinely affordable housing.”


But Lewis claimed “people are frustrated” about delays to the policies because
Labour MPs are “trying to stall them through political posturing at pretty much
every opportunity”.


The Bill now returns to the Lords as part of parliamentary “ping-pong”.