Housing and Regeneration Bill

moved Amendment No. 97ZD: 97ZD: Schedule 5, page 182, line 30, at end insert— ““In section 72(1)(a) (application and exclusion of certain enactments: section 12 of the Finance Act 1895 (c. 16)) omit ““or from the Commission””.”” The noble Baroness said: I am grateful for the co-operation of the Committee in enabling us to get to this point today. I appreciate it, and I know we can start our debates on Part 2 tomorrow refreshed and ready to engage in another battle. This group of amendments is minor, technical and consequential. I will not go over them in detail, but I am happy to write on specific points of concern. I shall draw up the main principles. On receiving Royal Assent, the creation of the Homes and Communities Agency will be brought about, together with the subsequent abolition of the predecessor bodies. Those are the Urban Regeneration Agency, the Commission for the New Towns—English Partnerships by another name—and the Housing Corporation. A significant proportion of the amendments in this group update references in other legislation to those predecessor bodies and make similar consequential changes to a wide and varied list of legislation. They are important and necessary but they are technical and do not contain any statement of policy. Essentially, they tidy up the statute book. A number of the amendments relate to tax legislation. Like most of these consequential amendments, they seek to provide for the references to those bodies that will be abolished—should Royal Assent be granted—to be replaced by reference to their successor bodies. Our intention is to ensure that the current tax position will be maintained once the new bodies come into being. The amendments do not impose new burdens or lift old ones; they simply reflect the changes in structure that the Bill will bring about. There are also some amendments to planning legislation; for example, clarifying that the HCA cannot be the hazardous substances authority for land that is used for the winning or working of minerals, or, in England, for land that is used for the disposal of refuse or waste materials. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 is clarified to provide that where plan-making functions are conferred upon the HCA, they may not be conferred concurrently with the existing local planning authorities. Some of the other technical amendments in this group are designed to smooth the transition between the predecessor bodies and the HCA; for example, in relation to the transfer of property between the bodies and board arrangements during the transition period. Amendments Nos. 118A and 118B relate to the Bill’s territorial extent. On the second day of our deliberations in Committee, the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, asked about the application of Part 1 of the Bill to Wales. She noted that Clause 2 refers to England only, whereas Clause 322 states that the Bill extends to both England and Wales. Perhaps I can clarify. The effect of Clause 322 is to limit the territorial extent of the Bill to England and Wales only, except for some consequential matters that may extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, the application of certain individual parts of the Bill is limited further to England only. Part 1 applies mainly to England only, but consequential amendments apply in Wales. Part 2 applies mainly to England only, but again consequential amendments apply in Wales. As I mentioned in my initial response to the noble Baroness, Part 3 applies to both England and Wales. I hope that that is a helpful clarification. Amendments Nos. 118A and 118B, which amend Clause 322, are purely technical. As I have said, some of the consequential amendments that we are making in the Bill are to legislation that also extends to Scotland. As it currently stands, Clause 322 essentially states that any consequential amendments to legislation that extends to Scotland will also extend to Scotland. It lists one exception: Section 5 of the Mobile Homes Act 1983. The purpose of Amendments Nos. 118A and 118B is to add several other exceptions, drawn from the additional consequential amendments that we are seeking to add to the Bill. Since your Lordships’ House is always concerned about workability, the amendments are necessary to ensure that the changes in this Bill work in practice. I beg to move.