Sunday 22 January 2012

Freedom of Information Responses on Council House Sales, 1970 to 1980

Freedom of Information responses which may be of interest.
On Council Houses  Sales

Tuesday, 17 January 2012,
I have again received a reply from the member of Parliament for Hartlepool, Iain Wright M.P. regarding my latest Freedom of Information request  to Hartlepool Borough Council, regarding my concerns of legality of the sale of Council  Owned Houses and Properties, prior to the right to the  “buy” legislation  introduced  in 1980. By Margaret Thatcher.
Dear Iain Wright, M.P.

I wrote and thanked him for his reply on the 13th January 2012 to my letter of the 9th January 2012, which I received to-day, in which he agreed that any allegations of Criminal activity should be rightly reported and investigated by the Police.
I know that Iain Wright, M.P. is fully aware and has a record of my Allegations of Criminality in Public Office, by Officials of Hartlepool Borough Council and Land Registry, Durham,  and is now also  aware of my latest request seeking information  regarding the sale  of Council Houses and Freehold Properties  in the years 1970, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75,  up to the  Introduction In 1980”  of the “Right to Buy “ Legislation, when, Margaret Thatcher’s government gave Council tenants the right to buy their homes, this policy transformed the lives of some of the least affluent in society, helping two million Britons to  become homeowners “for the first time.”  said  David Davis, the senior Tory MP and Frank Field, a former Labour Minister. In an article published on the Internet and placed in the Public domain,
Right To Buy: Allow One Million Additional Social Housing Tenants To Buy Their Homes, Senior Backbench MPs Say
Source: eGov monitor
Published Friday, 6 January, 2012 - 10:14

In the light of the above  claim, that the “Right to Buy” introduced in 1980 by Margaret Thatcher’s Government , gave Council House tenants the chance to buy their Council Houses, for the FIRST TIME  you will no doubt be very interested in the answers  I received to this latest Freedom of Information Request to Hartlepool Borough Council , regarding the  Sale of any  Council House Properties, in  the years 1970. 1971, 1972, 1973  up to 1980 , which is available on the What Do They Know Internet Site, and my Blog. Below,
http://alanflounders.blogspot.com/
The reply I received,  once again failed completely to answer clearly any of my critical, but reasonable requests for the total number of Council House sales for the years requested, and by what legal authority allowed any such sales, this reply was obviously another Whitewash,  another Smoke and Mirror’s exercise, by Hartlepool Borough Council, their “Claim” that all documentary Information on Council House sales  in the period 1970 to 1980  had been  destroyed ? Is frankly Unbelievable , and highly suspicious, when compared with their  previously stated answers on  Planning records, in which they stated that all their Planning records have been retained since 1947, ?  So why destroy all financial documents of Council Property sales ?
For the years 1970 up to 1980, ?  Oh dear, never mind. This is “Hartlepool”

 I have naturally requested a “Review” but doubt if I will receive a  honest reply, my last requests for a review has still not been addressed, see below,

WHATDOTHEYKNOW website. 10th June 2010
Alyson Carman said,
Your original request was received on the 3rd February 2010 and responded
to on the 23 February 2010 and therefore met the 20 working day deadline
for a response.
I note at (a) that you requested a copy of the Council's validation
checklist but this does not appear to have been provided, although there
is confirmation that the Council's validation checklist was applied. I
asked the Planning Department for a copy and they have provided a copy of
the validation report relating to the application in question. I am sorry
this was not provided in response to your original request.

This Validation Check list  was never ever received .? Why not, ?
I claim that to do so would have exposed  the Validation  Certificates
Of Property Ownership as bogus, fraudulent, as would  an inspection of the Official Copy of the entries in the Register of Title on 9th October 2008, at 10.55.27. And issued by Land Registry on 10th October 2008,
Proof of such allegations can also be verified by a simple ocular inspection
of the WHATDOTHEYKNOW website.

I have  also asked my Democratically Elected Member of Parliament , if he agrees with me , that Records of these Important and  Serious Financial Sales and Purchases, should never have been destroyed, and under the circumstances should not these Irregular Financial Transaction be made  the subject of the appointment of a special auditor to investigate all  these Financial Transactions,” and should not a request for a special auditor be submitted to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, ?

My other questions still remain valid, but remain unanswered, and must be of great concern to all right thinking people,  what qualified a rent paying  Hartlepool Council House tenant the  right to be able to purchase their Council owned freehold  Land and Property, which they occupied, in the years prior to 1980, when there was, and still is, a long  waiting list of desperate  people living in unsuitable conditions and even  slum area’s, who where  patiently awaiting their entitlement and opportunity to rent a  Council House Property,?  And was this entitlement to a  Right to Purchase  available to all Council House Tenants, in Hartlepool, and if “NOT” why “NOT”

It was a valid question , why should some favoured tenants  be allowed to Purchase their council owned Property  and other’s denied, few would argue against the fact that this  seems an inequitable situation, where there is one rule for some  council  house tenants and another for the remainder , a refusal to answer must be viewed with grave suspicion ?


 Yours Sincerely,
Alan Harvey Flounders

Monday 9 January 2012

alan harvey flounders aka "Coffin Dodger "

alan harvey flounders aka "Coffin Dodger "


9 January 2012 21:22

Mr. Iain Wright. M.P. Member of Parliament for Hartlepool
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your latest reply, dated 3rd January 2012,, I am only too pleased to correct any misunderstanding you may have regarding my claim that you did not appear to wish to support my allegations of wrongdoing, I therefore thank you for your obvious support and agree with my decision to report to the Cleveland Police my serious allegations of wrongdoing by Officers of both Hartlepool Borough Council and Land Registry, Durham.

I sincerely appreciate your attempt to involve Malcolm Dawson O.B.E. to investigate my allegations of Land Registry, , while I did have hopes at first, but his statements to have investigated my allegations and claim that the original registry and survey documents had been destroyed, is not acceptable , It is completely unbelievable, and clearly implies that any one purchasing Property from Hartlepool Borough Council is on very sticky ground ? But
as the whole matter will soon be investigated by the proper authorities, I will make no further comments at the moment.

I therefore wish to keep you informed and to put into the Public Domain,
http://alanflounders.blogspot.com/
my latest reply to the F.O I request I made to Hartlepool Borough Council, on the Sale of Council House Properties.

Dear F.O.I. Officer.
(1)
Thank you for your reply to my latest request, Sale of Council Houses.
unfortunately, and not for the first time I find when dealing with Hartlepool Borough Council, that you have completely failed to answer any of my very simple requests,
In a previous F.O.I. request dated 6th August 2011, on your Statutory Duty to Retain Documentary Planning Records as required by law, you did confirm
that Hartlepool Borough Council had retained a copy of all planning records electronically or paper copies, from 1947 onwards, I repeat 1947 Onwards.
(2)
In view of the above statement that Hartlepool Borough Council have retained all planning records from 1947 onwards, I find it incomprehensible that you have failed to retain the Information on the sale of Council House Properties, for the years 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980, which I requested, and consequently you are unable to confirm the number of tenants, who purchased any council house property for those years, and therefore it can be assumed that you and they also are unable to validate and confirm who purchased any Council House Property for those years, further it must be assumed that Hartlepool Council are unable to say with any credibility by what financial arrangements where these Council Houses Sold, and Bought, where they sanctioned by the Town Council by way of a Mortgage, or Purchased by Cash, I find it very difficult as Council Tax payer to understand this cavalier attitude in recording a very important financial transaction, to have no records of how many and for how much Council Property was Sold, is Downright Criminal. When you admitted you retained Planning Records from 1947 ?
(3)
I have further searched the Internet, in reference to the Housing Act 1957, you quoted in your reply, a) Part V Housing Act 1957 (now repealed) granted Council option to sell. without success, in addition I am unable
to find any reference to any Statutory Requirement to destroy any
Financial Documentary Details of the Sale of Council House Property.
as you claim in your reply below? I Still have my Mortgage Redemption Payment Statement ,signed by the Chief Financial Officer of Hartlepool Borough Council J. D. Walton I.PF.A.?

b) We do not hold this information, statute requires we hold information
relating to Council House sales for a minimum period of 6 years after
which all files are and have been destroyed ? Where does it say this ?

I did find the following

Council Houses (Sale)
HC Deb 13 June 1967 vol 748 cc49-50W49W
§53. Mr. Spriggs
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government to what extent local housing authorities can sell 50Wtheir houses without his sanction and whether he will take steps to require any such authority to refund all the housing subsidies received by them, following the sale of any such property.
§Mr. Greenwood
Local authorities require my consent under Section 104 of the Housing Act, 1957 to the sale of any house on land required or appropriated for the purposes of Part V of the Act and on which Exchequer subsidy has been paid. This covers the vast majority of council houses and it is under this power that I have continued the general consent to the sale of houses, subject to the conditions set out in Circular No.24/ 67.

A person shall not be entitled under this Part of this Act to acquire the freehold of property or an extended lease of the property where the freehold is vested in a housing society as defined by section 1(7) of the Housing Act 1964 and where the cost of acquisition or construction of the property has been financed by a housing society in whole or in part by means of loans from the housing corporation or from a local authority

An explanation would be appreciated, but on past experience , could I request a Internal Review.? And some sensible and honest answers. ? I am a Law abiding Tax Paying Citizen. And demand a Courteous Answer .