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Planning Bill

My Lords, for the reasons I set out, affordable housing providers already pay something under Section 106 obligations. We do not think that a nil rate is appropriate; I am talking about a significantly reduced rate. The noble Lord asked about RSLs which are charities and fall into the 70 per cent category. We will come to the charities amendment next, but he will appreciate the complexities of definition in the terms ““charities””, ““charitable purposes”” and so on, and he knows that RSLs come in all shapes and sizes with all sorts of conditions attached. Some RSLs sell on their property and are involved in different sorts of relationships. While I can say that all RSLs which meet the charitable definitions in our amendment could be covered, I also want to be absolutely certain that I do not mislead the noble Lord or the House because of the complexity of these definitions and the situation of different housing associations. I therefore propose to write to the noble Lord, particularly after we have debated the charitable exemption as a whole, to ensure that we understand the position of RSLs. However, we are content that those which meet the definitions could well be covered.