Welsh right to buy ban left in limbo
Plans to suspend the right to buy in Wales have run into further problems after a key House of Lords debate was shelved.
Peers were due to discuss the legality of a veto built into proposals that would give the Welsh Assembly Government the power to suspend the right to buy in areas where there is high demand for social housing.
The veto would allow the Westminster government to block Welsh Assembly Government moves, and was originally included to help drive the legislation through.
But a joint committee of MPs and peers that scrutinised the proposed legalisation found there was no legal basis for the veto. The House of Lords debate was set up to settle the matter, but it has now been postponed.
Various options are now on the table, including rescheduling the debate in the Lords, or rewriting the legislation to remove the controversial veto.
Welsh Liberal Democrat housing spokesman Peter Black said: ‘I welcome this decision by the government. The veto clause is potentially illegal and sets a dangerous precedent.
‘I understand that it is still possible that the order will be debated in the House of Lords first…but I would prefer the government to remove the veto and let the legislation proceed as originally intended by the Welsh government.’
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