Housing and Regeneration Bill

I have seven amendments in the group. I shall start by sharing a message that I have just received on the pager. There have been a number of occasions over the years where the results or the progress of sporting fixtures have been shared publicly. In this case, the message says that there has been all-party agreement that the vote on the amendment in the Chamber will take place at about 7.30 pm. I do not know whether I am correct in likening it to a sporting fixture. I have a bit of a ragbag of amendments. The first is Amendment No. 101A, in which, like the noble Viscount, I am probing the reason for the size of the board of the new regulator. I had suggested a minimum of five and a maximum of 15, as distinct from the three and 10. Like the noble Viscount, I am particularly concerned about the minimum size, and for all sorts of reasons it is appropriate to have more than a tiny handful. The second amendment is a probing amendment. Clause 83(4) says that former membership of the Housing Corporation is not a bar to appointment. I declare an interest because I was one of the referees for the person who has been appointed as chair, so I am certainly not trying to undermine his appointment. It seems a curious thing to say. There are a number of things here that indicate to me that there is a different hand in its drafting from the drafting of Part 1. I do not know why one should say that. The fourth amendment is Amendment No. 102ZA, which takes us to Clause 84, where Clause 84(2) says that a period of appointment may not exceed five years but that there can be a reappointment. I do not think that appointees should be able to go on and on, so I am saying that there should be only one reappointment, so that there would be a maximum period of 10 years in office. Amendment No 102ZB and Amendment No. 102ZC, which is consequential, take out the reference to ““misbehaviour””. I am intrigued about what might be meant by that in this context. Surely, the point is covered by the rest of the paragraph on dismissal of a member who is unable, or has become unsuitable or unwilling, to perform the functions. Misbehaviour is different from all that; it could be anything. I ask rather frivolously whether that means throwing bread rolls at dinner—that is misbehaviour. Amendments Nos. 104AB and 104AC are to Clauses 90 and 91. On the issue of conflict of interest, which we dealt with in respect of the HCA, Clause 90(2)(b) provides that someone who has an interest must withdraw, "““unless the regulator directs otherwise””." I thought that was curious. I could see an argument for the regulator permitting that member to continue, but for the regulator to be saying, ““Thou shall stay in the room; thou shall take part in this decision””, is an odd way of going about it. The last of the amendments—Amendment No. 104AC to Clause 91—refers essentially to co-optees. It states: "““A committee or sub-committee may include non-members (provided that it includes at least one member)””." I want to understand what the Government have in mind, although that may be in development. I appreciate that it could be convenient to bring in non-Members, but I am concerned, as I was with the HCA, that committees or sub-committees may have a majority of non-members, which would be wrong. Members of the main body should be in the majority. I do not know whether there was a technological problem, but somewhere between the amendment that I was asked to table by the National Consumer Council being typed in our Whips’ Office and it arriving in the Public Bill Office, it went astray. I realised it only this afternoon, so clearly I cannot expect an answer. I will make the point that the council made to me that to have a committee that is in effect an advisory panel whose members are, or have recently, been occupiers of social housing would be a very good thing—a sort of lay panel. I am not arguing against the point that I have just made about non-members, but about keeping feet on the ground and having a critical friend with both personal experience and that gained through talking to neighbours. We talked briefly about the culture of the regulator, and having such a group involved in the very early stages to see how the board goes about its planning, makes its choice of thematic reviews, prioritises for activities and develops its methodologies would be a very good thing. I am sorry that the amendment did not reach the published list.