Housing and Regeneration Bill

moved Amendment No. 97PE: 97PE: After Clause 68, insert the following new Clause— ““Transitional arrangements (1) The Secretary of State may by order transfer functions of the Housing Corporation to— (a) the regulator, (b) the HCA, or (c) the regulator and the HCA jointly or concurrently. (2) An order under subsection (1) may make provision in relation to English registered social landlords which is similar to any provision made by this Part in relation to registered providers. (3) ““English registered social landlord”” means a body— (a) which is registered as a social landlord under Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996, and (b) which does not fall within paragraph (a) to (c) of section 56(2) of that Act (Welsh bodies). (4) Provision made under this section, including provision made by virtue of 318(1)(d), may modify an enactment. (5) Provision under section 320(1) in connection with the coming into force of a provision of this Act may, in particular, include transitional provision having regard to the effect of provision made under this section.”” The noble Baroness said: This is a technical but important provision which will help to ensure a smooth transition from the Housing Corporation to its successors in the regulator and the Homes and Communities Agency. The Bill already includes provision for the transfer of assets from the Housing Corporation to the new bodies, and for co-operation in an interim period, including the lending of staff and buildings. While those provisions address assets and staff, the new clause addresses functions. The establishment of the regulator in particular will involve detailed work on new systems that will require extensive consultation with stakeholders, for example, on the regulator’s standards or on eligibility criteria for registering with the regulator. It is therefore likely that, when initially established, the regulator’s powers to set and consult on standards, registration criteria and so on, will need to be commenced first, so that when the new register becomes live, all the necessary parts of the regime are in place. Therefore, to ensure an early transition, and to ensure that there is no regulatory vacuum, we will need to transfer the existing regulatory powers of the Housing Corporation to the regulator for a transitional period. That will enable the regulator to take over operational responsibility for regulation as soon as possible. The new clause simply enables those arrangements to be put in place. It is necessary. It is modest, but it is important, and I hope that the Committee will accept it. I beg to move.