Monthly Report for February 2010

Below is a summary of my work in Parliament and in Southampton for the month of February 2010 Click here to read previous reports.

If you'd like to know more about any of the work I've been doing, or if you think there is another issue you think I should be acting on, you can always contact my office.

Protecting Family Homes and Tenants’ Rights

As readers may know, I have been working for a number of years to change the law to protect family housing in areas with high concentrations of shared rented housing.  I am very pleased to report the government has now adopted my proposals, which are now scheduled to be introduced before May 2010.

The changes announced mean that local authorities would be able to manage the spread and distribution of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).  A landlord would in future have to apply for permission from the Council if they wanted to change the ‘use’ of a property from a family home to an HMO.  This means there would be a forum where local residents could raise concerns about the consequences of such a change, and local authorities could refuse to grant a change of use if objections are serious enough.  This change would also make it harder for landlords to evade the landlord licensing system, which will improve the quality of rented housing in Southampton and strengthen the rights of tenants.

There are many good landlords in Southampton, but this change will improve standards and protect communities.  A lot of people have campaigned in Southampton to deliver this change- it’s a good example of what we can achieve when we work together.

Prepay meter campaign

As of this month, all 6 of the Big Six Energy providers have agreed to abolish the premium charged to energy customers who pay for their energy via a prepayment meter.  This is a fantastic result for prepay meter customers in Southampton, many of whom are among the poorest energy customers in the country.
Readers may remember my work with the National Housing Federation on this issue.  Energy companies had justified a premium on prepay meter charges on the basis that that they were more costly to administer.  I and other Labour MPs argued that these extra costs should be weighed against many of the positive benefits energy companies receive through prepay meter payment (for example prepay meter payment is 100% secure, unlike direct debits or standard bills, which can fail due to lack of funds), and that such a premium is ultimately unjustifiable.  This argument was accepted by the government, who last year told energy companies that if they did not choose to voluntarily end their prepay meter premiums, the government would legislate to abolish the extra charge.
 

Local Government Debate

I took part in the House debate on local government financing.  In the course of the debate I raised the issue of how the Tory proposal for a Council tax freeze was in practise very likely to result in very much higher council tax rises down the road.  The full text of my question is below:
Will my hon. Friend reflect on the consequences for balancing of having a freeze on council tax? What, for example, might be the consequence in year 3 of the freeze, if it were imposed without replacing the money cumulatively lost through council tax, for central Government funding, especially if the figures were not entirely right? Unless central funding took over, would not the likely outcome be a huge avalanche of council tax rises in year 3, thereby decreasing still further the ability of local authorities to raise their own finance?

Energy Bill

The government has accepted my amendment to the Energy Bill on requirements on energy companies to promote energy efficiency.  My amendment effectively says that rather than just asking energy companies to contribute funding towards this goal, they can also meet their obligations through providing gifts in kinds and services (like insulation) which should, I believe, encourage change in business practices in these companies to make promoting energy efficiency a more central part of what they do.

Prison numbers

On my website you can now read my latest article on the work of the Justice Committee on cutting crime and reducing prison numbers through greater use of community courts, probation, youth courts and forms of ‘justice reinvestment.’

Electoral Reform

I was one of the Labour MPs who supported an amendment to the government’s Constitutional Reform Bill to require a referendum on changing the voting system.  I am pleased to report this amendment passed.  This is effectively the closest campaigners for electoral reform have gotten to changing the voting system for many years.  You can read the amended part of the Bill here.

Community Garden in Portswood

I have written an article for the Portswood NBSP Community Group in support of creating a community garden on a derelict site near Portswood school.  In other cities like Southampton, such sites have been used as ‘meanwhile gardens’ by local community groups rather than sitting abandoned waiting for planning applications that may or may not materialise in the future.  The Council says it needs to conduct another inspection of the site before it can decide whether to support the project or not.  I don’t think a new inspection is necessary, as there is already substantial information about the site to go on, and I hope my support for the garden will spur along the Council’s decision-making process. 

Other engagements

Some of my other work & visits this month include:

Alan Whitehead MP

February 2010