Housing and Regeneration Bill

The noble Lord was not wrong, but I want to go further than that and make the simple point that the amendment is not necessary because community land trusts use a variety of legal entities, some of which are charities, some are industrial or provident societies—the noble Lord knows more about those than I do—some are companies and some are other community bodies. Clause 80 simply defines what is meant by the term ““English bodies””. As noble Lords can see, all these types of bodies are already included within the definition of ““English bodies””, provided that they are registered in England or intend to make accommodation available in England. Therefore, we do not think that the amendment is necessary. Community land trusts have real potential to help provide more affordable housing and they are an exciting model, but it is inappropriate to put this mechanism to define community land trusts or any other vehicle, such as local housing companies, in legislation. Nor do we think it is wise or necessary. For example, development trusts are similar and hold assets for communities but do not have a definition in law, so there is no barrier there. To embed one particular mechanism in legislation is perhaps too short-term an approach. Circumstances differ and times change, and we would not want to see future innovative proposals or models held back because they do not fit a particular definition. We have listened to the views of community land trust representatives, and Iain Wright announced at the Community Land Trust conference that we will be seeking views in the summer on the need for a legal definition. However, we do not think it is appropriate legally to define community land trusts without proper or full consultation. It is not just the Government who need to be convinced on the right words for CLTs; the financiers, the Local Government Association, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and housing lawyers need to have their say so that we can get this right. We are committed to getting this right so that we can take this policy area forward. If we were to accept this wording or an improved wording, we would be pre-empting that consultation. The noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, made a point about people waiting to gift land for housing. They can do so, and gifting land for housing has already enabled some community land trusts to get off the ground. That work is there and can be built on. We are looking at pilots and want to ensure, through consultation, that we get this right so that we can further encourage, develop and support community land trusts as my noble friend Lord Graham seeks. We are as one. We will get there. It is about getting this right and ensuring that we can make progress that stands up effectively and enables us to develop further this avenue of providing affordable housing.