---

Housing and Regeneration Bill

My intervention will be brief. The words ““tenant””, ““social housing””, ““local government”” and ““managers”” have been mentioned, not least by the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee. I am always grateful to the Minister for her eloquent expositions. In the context of her argument, perhaps I may recommend a book that deals almost entirely with the subject of social housing—or council housing, as it used to be called. It is entitled Estates and is by a very able young woman, Lynsey Hanley. It deals in detail, first, with the origins of the right to buy and then the rise of housing associations, allied to which there are requirements concerning inspections. Miss Hanley writes a memoir of her young life on a Birmingham council estate. My noble friend may recollect that a Cabinet Minister, Sir Keith Joseph, had the habit of constructing lists of books that might be read by particular divisions in his department. The very able colleagues who advise my noble friend may wish to study in detail this book by Lynsey Hanley, which has been very well reviewed. Indeed, my noble friend may have read it and may even be able to recommend it to the Grand Committee.