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Housing and Regeneration Bill

It is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness. I apologise to the Committee for not having spoken at Second Reading. I completely concur with the noble Baroness. May I also say how wonderfully positive the response has been to these impending reforms? The noble Baroness says that members of the board should not be highly representative, but that can confuse a board. In following the 1993 Act, ““not less than six”” does not follow English Partnerships or the Housing Corporation. I think that English Partnerships has 12 board members: one could think of them as two, but I suspect that, because of the group approach, it is more realistic to think of them as having been managed and governed as one. The Housing Corporation has, I think, 14 board members. I cannot think that six board members would ever be appropriate. It seems to be very loose drafting. Why does nothing in the Bill represent reality about the structure and number of members of the board?