8 Friday April 8 2022 | the times
News
A former Conservative cabinet minis-
ter was forced to apologise to the Gren-
fell inquiry after expressing concern
that further questioning might affect
his “extremely busy day”.
Lord Pickles, 69, said he had changed
his schedule to “fit in” his appearance
before the panel investigating the
deaths of 72 people in the tower block
blaze in 2017.
The former secretary of state for
communities and local government
said he had “a number of international
guests” visiting him that afternoon.
He had been repeatedly questioned
by Richard Millett QC, counsel for the
inquiry, about an email that trumpeted
his role in getting rid of red tape, includ-
ing building regulations.
Pickles said: “Could I respectfully re-
mind you that you did promise we will
be away this morning and I have
changed my schedule to fit this in.
“I do have an extremely busy day
meeting people, but this is more impor-
tant than anything. But I would urge
you to use your time wisely.”
Minutes later he told Sir Martin
Moore-Bick, the chairman of the in-
quiry: “I’m at your disposal, I’ll be here
as long as you are, but I’ve got a number
of international guests coming.. .”
After a short recess, Pickles appeared
to backtrack on his concerns. He said:
“I’d like to apologise to you, and partic-
ularly to Mr Millett, for any way I
seemed discourteous. This is more im-
portant than anything I’m doing.”Pickles apologises to Grenfell
inquiry for his impatience
Pickles had been questioned about
an email circulated to other members
of the department in June 2011 by Jane
Houghton, a press officer. The email
appeared to include a proposed press
release that said: “Pickles introduces
new red tape test for department.”
It added: “All future policy at DCLG
[the Department for Communities and
Local Government] will be subject to
new bureaucracy busting tests as min-
isters introduce new red tape challenge
to policies.”
The press release also heralded the “
out 1 in” scheme and said the depart-
ment was “cutting down red tape regu-
lation for the construction industry”.
Millett told Pickles: “Would you
agree that this shows quite some zeal on
your part not only for the deregulatory
agenda in general but to place the
building regulations firmly within it?”
Pickles called the email “thin gruel”
and denied it was government policy.
But he did not directly answer ques-
tions about whether he was introducing
red tape tests or cutting down regula-
tion for the construction industry.
Incorrectly stating that 96 people
were killed in the fire, he said he did not
think he would have done anything dif-
ferently because “I don’t think it would
have made any difference whatsoever”.
Pickles added: “Ultimately it comes
down to... the nameless, I think it’s 96
people who were killed in the Grenfell
fire. It’s them we should think about
when we’re arguing the toss.”
Phase two of the inquiry’s hearings is
expected to conclude in May.James Beal Social Affairs EditorROY RIMMER/ANIMAL NEWS AGENCYWatchdog needed
for older people’s
housing, says peer
An influential crossbench peer has
called for a regulator to monitor shared
ownership for older people after the
“disgraceful” conduct of a company
that inserted administration fees of
tens of thousands of pounds into the
leases of elderly residents.
Lord Best, chairman of the all party
parliamentary group on housing and
care for older people, also criticised
Homes England, the agency that runs
the government’s shared-ownership
schemes, for allowing private sector
companies to draw up unfair leases.
His comments follow an investi-
gation by The Times that found that the
housing developer Platinum Skies
broke Homes England rules over a
three-year period by inserting clauses
into shared-ownership contracts that
made it harder and more expensive for
older residents to purchase more of
their retirement flats. The company has
also been charging ground rents so high
that residents risk difficulties selling
their homes in future.
The company, which received more
than £15 million in taxpayer grants to
develop the flats, said that the clauses
were a “drafting error” and that it wrote
to leaseholders to reassure them the
provisions would not be enforced.
When The Times later brought the
leases to the attention of Homes En-
gland, it demanded that Platinum Skies
rectify the contracts at no cost to resi-
dents, which the company agreed to do.Lord Best, who used to be the chief
executive of the Joseph Rowntree
Foundation, said: “Homes England do
not look at the actual leases that people
sign. As the funder... they should be
examining with a fine-tooth comb the
individual leases and approving those
leases because they are the basis on
which older people occupy their homes
for the rest of their lives.”
He also questioned the rationale be-
hind offering money to private sector
developers to build shared-ownership
flats for older people.
Best said: “It is much better if you’re
spending public money [on social hous-
ing] not to use companies whose pur-
pose is to maximise profits. I hope that
this is a salutary lesson to Homes En-
gland to beware. Be careful when you’re
dealing with people whose motivations
are not for the public good. Their moti-
vation is to make profit for themselves
and their shareholders. ”
He believes that a wider solution
would be a property regulator that
covered shared ownership, estate
agents, letting agents and agents.
The peer added: “A regulator could
lay down the basis for leases, possibly
require standard leases, and ensure a
code of conduct by those managing
these properties is adhered to. We need
absolute transparency for the consum-
er in the deals that are on offer so they
really understand what they’re buying.
“At the moment, there is no such reg-
ulator, and compare this to the world of
financial services, where the amount of
regulation is completely different.”Andrew Ellson
Consumer Affairs CorrespondentNarrow squeak A squirrel was
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