Friday Volume 551 19 October 2012 No. 52 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Friday 19 October 2012 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2012 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 599 19 OCTOBER 2012 Mobile Homes Bill 600 It is appropriate to mention some of those who have House of Commons campaigned so tirelessly to address the unfairness that my hon. Friend outlined. They include my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope), who chairs Friday 19 October 2012 the all-party group on mobile homes, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Annette The House met at half-past Nine o’clock Brooke), who has campaigned vigorously for reform, and the noble Lord Graham of Edmonton, who has championed the cause of park home owners over many PRAYERS years. The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means took A particular feature of the sector is that most residents the Chair as Deputy Speaker (Standing Order No. 3). are elderly and often vulnerable, with approximately 70% being over the age of 70. At present, they face a confusing array of laws and regulations that offer little Mobile Homes Bill or no protection. The existing legislative framework is Second Reading flawed and has many loopholes that enable unscrupulous site owners unfairly to take advantage of residents. 9.35 am Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD): Does my Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con): I beg to move, that hon. Friend also agree that many of these elderly home the Bill be now read a Second time. occupiers came to what was to them an idyllic home in When I was fortunate enough to be drawn fifth in the an attractive setting, often with a very friendly and ballot for private Members’ Bills on 17 May, I immediately helpful owner, but have then seen the site bought by received requests to introduce Bills on many subjects. somebody else who does not understand or co-operate The request to sponsor a Bill on park homes stood out on their problem at all? from the other suggestions for a number of reasons. First, the request came from a wide variety of colleagues Peter Aldous: My right hon. Friend makes a good from both sides of this Chamber and from the other point. Consumer Focus has just produced a report on place. Secondly, based on my experiences in my constituency, park home sites entitled “Living the Dream?”. For I was fully aware that the law on park homes was in many people these homes were a cherished ideal and urgent need of reform and updating. Thirdly, drawing somewhere they could retire to, but their dreams have on experiences in my career as a chartered surveyor, it been shattered and we need to pick up the pieces. was clear that park home owners in many places have Guy Opperman (Hexham) (Con): I congratulate my been denied the basic right to live peacefully in and hon. Friend on securing the debate and support everything enjoy their own homes, a right that those in most other in his Bill. He has described how the concerns about property sectors with different tenure arrangements park homes relate particularly to coastal areas and to take for granted. the elderly. May I point out that there are two park The sector comprises 0.38% of the country’s housing home sites in my constituency in Northumberland that stock—approximately 160,000 people living in 85,000 are landlocked and that the residents, who are in no way park homes on 2,000 estates. It is the fact that these elderly, are robust, strong and intelligent people? However, numbers are relatively small, not any party political even the fact that they robust, strong and have their full differences, that explains why the sector has been overlooked capacities does not stop them being completely subject for so long and why there has been a lack of progress in to landlords and the problems my right hon. Friend the bringing forward legislation. There is, in fact, a remarkable Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Sir Alan Beith) degree of agreement on all sides that the legislative identified. framework governing park homes is today not fit for purpose. It neither deters unscrupulous site owners nor Peter Aldous: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his provides local authorities with effective powers to monitor intervention. There are some very responsible site owners, and help improve site conditions. but there are also some unscrupulous rogue operators— gangsters, dare I say it?—against whom everyone needs Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con): I commend the right protection. my hon. Friend’s proposals to allow the sale of mobile The problem we have identified has been recognised homes to be in the control of the occupier, not the by the Prime Minister, who, in response to a question owner of the site. This will come as a particular relief to from my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and those people on sites on the Isle of Wight and beyond North Poole (Annette Brooke) during Prime Minister’s that have been sale blocked. People have come over to questions last November, said: the island specifically to block sales of park homes and “There are some extremely good park home owners, who not sites. Most owners set sensible limits, such as restricting only obey the rules but demonstrate responsibility and compassion, parks to over-60s, but does my hon. Friend believe that but there are some who do not. We are committed to providing a protecting the rights of mobile home owners will prevent better deal for park home residents by improving their rights and sale blocking by rogue site owners? increasing protection against bad site owners.”—[Official Report, 9 November 2011; Vol. 535, c. 283.] Peter Aldous: Yes, I do agree, and the Bill seeks to It is in that spirit, and with full Government support, address the concerns that my hon. Friend sets out. His led by the former Housing Minister, my right hon. constituency, like mine, is a coastal constituency, and it Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), is in such areas that this is a particular problem. I am that I present the Bill for Second Reading. In summary, grateful to him for drawing that to my attention. the problem park home owners face is that in recent 601 Mobile Homes Bill19 OCTOBER 2012 Mobile Homes Bill 602 [Peter Aldous] Peter Aldous: My hon. Friend makes her point well. A particularly unscrupulous type of site operator has years many sites have been acquired by rogue operators moved into the sector and is making life a misery for an who, in pursuit of obscene windfall profits, exploit the untold number of people. piecemeal regulatory framework to make the lives of Earlier this week, Consumer Focus published its report, many elderly and vulnerable people a misery. “Living the Dream?”, which confirmed the abuses and iniquities taking place in the sector. The conclusions of Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con): I congratulate these reports and inquiries are underpinned by the my hon. Friend on getting the Bill to Second Reading experiences and findings of colleagues in this Chamber and hope that we will get it through today—I am sure and in the other place, drawn from what they have been that we will. Many rogue operators have come in and told and what they have seen for themselves. I anticipate bought up sites in idyllic places. In South Derbyshire we that during the course of this debate we will hear some have some very good site operators, but there are also shocking examples—we have heard some already—of some people who have come in more recently who do what some park home owners have had to put up with. not care about the residents and basically want them off the sites. It is a really poor show. The Bill will hopefully The Bill’s objectives are threefold. The first and foremost remedy the situation. objective is to drive out the rogues. Secondly, the Bill aims to ensure that responsible site owners, such as my constituent, David Westgate, who runs the Beach Farm Peter Aldous: My hon. Friend summarises well the park at Pakefield, are not unfairly penalised and burdened situation and the challenge we face. with regulations and so can make a fair return on the The exploitation takes a variety of forms: the deliberate time, effort and financial investment they put into their miscalculation of pitch fee increases and utility charges; properties. poor, or even a complete lack of, site maintenance, as is the case at the Waveney residential park in Beccles in my constituency; and the abuse of the right to approve Rebecca Harris (Castle Point) (Con): Does my hon. new buyers, known as sale blocking, which rogue site Friend agree that this excellent Bill, by driving out the owners often use as a device to buy park homes at rogue operators, will allow the legitimate and responsible knock-down prices before selling them for windfall park owners to have much better businesses, to be much profits. There has even been a case involving terrified more respected and to do much more to improve and home owners being forced to sell their home, which had enhance their sites in future? a market value of £80,000, for £1—a peppercorn. The existing legal framework, which dates back over Peter Aldous: I thank my hon.