Vol. 749 Thursday No. 67 7 November 2013 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Introduction: Lord Bamford..............................................................................................................319 Questions Housing: Leaseholder Redress Schemes .......................................................................................319 Professional Standards Authority ..................................................................................................321 Mental Health: Cost of Living Support.....................................................................................323 Female Genital Mutilation ............................................................................................................325 Business of the House Motion on Standing Orders ...........................................................................................................328 Business of the House Timing of Debates..........................................................................................................................328 United Kingdom and China Motion to Take Note.....................................................................................................................328 Security Services: Supervision Question for Short Debate.............................................................................................................375 Armed Forces: Legal Challenge Motion to Take Note.....................................................................................................................391 Magna Carta Question for Short Debate.............................................................................................................418 Grand Committee Middle East: Situation of Women Question for Short Debate.....................................................................................................GC 123 OSCE: Helsinki+40 Process Question for Short Debate.....................................................................................................GC 138 Commencement Orders Question for Short Debate.....................................................................................................GC 146 Sudan and Republic of South Sudan Question for Short Debate.....................................................................................................GC 156 Millennium Development Goals Question for Short Debate.....................................................................................................GC 172 Written Statements........................................................................................................................WS 23 Written Answers.............................................................................................................................WA 63 £4·00 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. 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The first time a Member speaks to a new piece of parliamentary business, the following abbreviations are used to show their party affiliation: Abbreviation Party/Group CB Cross Bench Con Conservative Con Ind Conservative Independent DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Lab Labour Lab Ind Labour Independent LD Liberal Democrat LD Ind Liberal Democrat Independent Non-afl Non-affiliated PC Plaid Cymru UKIP UK Independence Party UUP Ulster Unionist Party No party affiliation is given for Members serving the House in a formal capacity, the Lords spiritual, Members on leave of absence or Members who are otherwise disqualified from sitting in the House. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2013, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 319 Introduction: Lord Bamford[7 NOVEMBER 2013] Housing: Leaseholder Redress Schemes 320 remedies by providing an alternative way of dealing House of Lords with many of the day-to-day disputes that arise. I look Thursday, 7 November 2013. forward to debating the orders and putting these important redress schemes in place so that all those who have felt 11 am let down until now will feel better supported in the future. Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Guildford. Lord Campbell-Savours (Lab): My Lords, the tribunal Introduction: Lord Bamford which replaces the leasehold valuation tribunal system is removing the £500 statutory limit on costs. As a 11.08 am consequence, will not many leaseholders now find it Sir Anthony Paul Bamford, Knight, having been created utterly impossible to go before a tribunal because they Baron Bamford, of Daylesford in the County of will be worried about what the final costs of their Gloucestershire and of Wootton in the County of hearings could be? Staffordshire, was introduced and took the oath, supported by Lord Tebbit and Lord Lloyd-Webber, and signed an Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Leaseholders will have undertaking to abide by the Code of Conduct. the option of continuing to pursue a complaint through the tribunal system as the noble Lord has described, Housing: Leaseholder Redress Schemes but they will also have this new route for redress Question through the new schemes, which will not attract a fee. By introducing these schemes we are able to offer 11.14 am people more opportunities to get the right outcome if Asked by Baroness Gardner of Parkes they feel they have a legitimate complaint to make. To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress Baroness Hanham (Con): My Lords, I, too, acknowledge is being made in producing the necessary regulations the work that has been done by the noble Baronesses, to implement the access to redress schemes for Lady Gardner and Lady Hayter, on this matter. Does owners of leaseholder properties established by the Minister agree that it is essential that people in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013; leasehold properties understand their rights and obligations and when they expect the scheme to be fully and the redress which is available to them as a result of operational. this and other policies? Does she also agree that it is essential that people moving into the private rented The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department sector—which is increasing, and must increase to help for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Stowell with housing problems—have the same knowledge? of Beeston): My Lords, before answering my noble friend’sQuestionIshoulddeclarethatIamanowner-occupier Baroness Stowell of Beeston: My noble friend is of a leasehold property. absolutely right on those points. It is incumbent on The Government are making excellent progress. government to make sure, through opportunities such The order enabling the approval of schemes was laid as this, that both those living in leasehold properties on 25 October. This should be debated in Grand and those in the private rented sector are aware of Committee shortly. The order, which will make it a their new rights. It is incredibly important that we legal requirement for agents to belong to a scheme, extend the private rented sector because one way of will be laid as soon as we are satisfied that there are driving up standards is to increase choice for those sufficient approved schemes. We expect that to be living in the rented sector. I am pleased to announce early in 2014. We have also recently announced a today that we have agreed yet another new Build to significant package of support for tenants in the private Rent project, this time in Manchester, which will deliver rented sector. 196 rented units by refurbishing three blocks of unused social housing. Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con): My interest is declared in the register so I have not redeclared it here. Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Lab): My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply, which will give I add my thanks as well as my congratulations to both great hope to many of the 3 million leaseholders who the noble Baronesses, Lady Gardner and Lady Hanham. have been so adversely affected in the past by the It is a shame, of course, that the Minister voted failure to have any essential repairs carried out on against this when we first pushed it through but we are their properties. These people had almost given up delighted