Tag: Lord Bassam of Brighton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their estimate is of the cost of Lord Strathclyde’s review of the powers of the House of Lords, and which department will cover those costs.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston):

Lord Strathclyde is being supported in his review by a panel of external experts and a small secretariat of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. The secretariat does not include political advisers. The expert panel comprises Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel; Jacqy Sharpe, a former Clerk in the House of Commons and Clerk to the Joint Committee on Conventions; and Sir Michael Pownall, former Clerk of the Parliaments.

Several reviews have examined the powers of the House of Lords, including the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords (2000) and the Joint Committee on Conventions referenced above (2006).

The review led by Lord Strathclyde is due to consider how to protect the ability of elected Governments to secure their business in Parliament in the light of the operation of certain conventions. The review will consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to its primacy on financial matters; and secondary legislation.

Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.

Lord Strathclyde will determine the way in which the review is undertaken and the content of his recommendations, including any definitions required. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of the exercise at this stage, but neither Lord Strathclyde nor his panel of experts will be paid a fee. Lord Strathclyde is expected to seek views from a wide range of Parliamentarians, parties and groups in undertaking his review, and has issued a letter to all Parliamentarians inviting their input. He is also seeking views from the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House. Lord Strathclyde will report to the Prime Minister, and the Government will decide how to proceed upon receipt of his recommendations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-07-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance the operator of Southern Rail services is given on the safe passenger loading capacity for Sussex Coastal services.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Transport safety is a key objective of the Government and the UK has one of the safest railways in Europe. Each operator is responsible for the safety of their staff, passengers and services. The Office of Rail and Road’s duty is to ensure that those responsible for keeping Britain’s railways safe for passengers, and providing a safe place for staff to work, do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received from bodies and organisations in support of fixed-term local authority tenancies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

I refer the noble Lord to my answer to him to question HL5779.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-07-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to give guidance to the operator of Southern Rail services on ensuring passenger safety when short formation services are in use.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Each operator is responsible for the safety of their staff, passengers and services. The Office of Rail and Road’s duty is to ensure that those responsible for keeping Britain’s railways safe for passengers and providing a safe place for staff to work do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what impact they expect fixed-term tenancies to have on (1) local authorities’ ability to fulfil their housing obligations for homeless families, and (2) levels of homelessness.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Homeless households and those owed the main homelessness duty will continue to be prioritised for social housing by means of the statutory ‘reasonable preference’ categories.

The requirement for local authorities to offer fixed-term tenancies in future is designed to ensure that landlords get the best use out of their social housing by focusing it on those who need it the most for as long as they need it. As it should increase the number of available social lettings over time, it should mean that more homeless households are able to access the social rented sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current average length of a local authority secure tenancy.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Information is not held centrally on the length of life time local authority tenancies. The English Housing Survey showed that in 2013/14 the average time that local authority tenants had lived in their current home was just over 12 and a half years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many fixed-term local authority tenancies will be granted annually.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The provisions in the Housing and Planning Bill will ensure that in future all local authority tenancies granted to new tenants will be on a fixed-term basis. Local authorities will have a limited discretion to offer further lifetime tenancies to existing tenants who seek to transfer to another social home.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated reduction in the number of local authority right-to-buy applications annually as a result of the introduction of fixed-term tenancies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Right to Buy will continue to apply to new fixed-term tenancies as it already does to flexible tenancies. Tenants will still be able to fulfil their aspirations of owning their own home.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the annual change in local authority rental income as a result of the introduction of fixed-term tenancies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

We do not expect the introduction of fixed-term tenancies will have a material impact on local authority rental income.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on community cohesion of the introduction of fixed-term local authority tenancies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Continuing to provide lifetime tenancies to households that may only experience temporary need compounds the situation that sees 1.2 million households on social housing waiting lists, and 236,000 social tenants forced to live in overcrowded conditions due to lack of suitably sized properties, while 380,000 households occupy social housing with two or more spare bedrooms. This is not a good use of scarce social housing and it is not likely to lead to strong and cohesive communities.

The provisions in the Housing and Planning Bill require that towards the end of the fixed term the landlord must review the tenant’s circumstances. Where they are broadly unchanged, the landlord will be able to grant a further tenancy in the same home.