Housing and Regeneration Bill

I suspect that it is something on which the Audit Commission would issue guidance, rather than the Government, but I take the point. Clearly, to deal with this issue, it would be of value if we set out more detail for Members of the Committee. We must ensure that there is probity in this process, to which I think all of us would sign up. The noble Lord also has argued that the HCA should be able to take into account the planning status of any land it wishes to sell in assessing bids it receives for that land. In the past, he has argued that the HCA should be able to disregard any bids that are unusually high relative to that planning status, as they are likely to be attempts to ““land bank””: to hold land fallow until planning permission can be secured and the value or usefulness of the land increases. In those circumstances, the noble Lord makes the point that going for what may be considered to be the pure best financial value may not necessarily be the right thing to do. The noble Lord may be right and we would agree. However, the amendment is not necessary. Whether land has planning permission, and the nature of that planning permission, is bound to have an impact on its market value. As I have explained, the HCA is already empowered not to accept the highest bid for its land, subject to the consent of the Secretary of State. On the noble Lord’s point about would-be purchasers speculatively paying over the odds in order to land bank, in a sense, that is their business. The HCA can decline the offer either by accepting a lower bid, but one where the public benefits have an assessable monetary value—