Freedom of Information Request to Grant Shapps, M.P.

Friday, 31 August 2012
 Dear Freedom of Information Officer,
For the attention of  Grant Shapps, M.P.  and Housing Minister
Dear Sir,
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, you called for social housing to be rebranded as "taxpayer-funded housing, I always thought is was,

Under the Freedom of Information Act,  Could you please direct me to the Correct Government Department that would be in a position to answer my
Questions, or failing that, direct me to the Government Department that can supply me with  a copy of any recorded information of the Law or Policy, outlining the sale of Council  Houses prior to 1980. ?

as my Freedom of Information Requests to Hartlepool Borough Council for this information and other Information, have been unsuccessful , All my previous Freedom of Information Requests can be viewed on this site
WhattDoTheyKnow and http://alanflounders.blogspot.co.uk/

A few months ago I started to do research into the reasons behind the Sale of Council House Property’s in Hartlepool , in  the 1970’s the period prior to the Introduction of the Right to Buy Laws Introduced by Margaret Thatcher in1980,  Which  I personally applauded, and wish to record my thanks, because without that Legal Right, I,  like millions more , would have had Little or No Chance to be a Property Owner,

I was totally unaware that Council House Tenants had a legal right to Buy their Council House Freehold Property before 1980?, and  I am totally  Confused and unable to understand why if the Legal provisions enabling a weekly Rent paying Council House Tenant to Buy their Freehold Council Property, was already in place prior to 1980,? why was it necessary for Margaret Thatcher to introduce The Housing (Right To Buy)  Laws in 1980 ?

 I believe the Public, have a right to know. because,  and  it is worth reminding people,  that all Council Houses,  were built  and subsidised with taxpayers money in the first place, Our  Money. ?

What Special Qualifications. If Any,  did a  Weekly Rent Paying Council House Tenant have to be eligible to Purchase their Freehold Council House Property,  prior to 1980.? And did they receive any Financial Reduction in the Purchase Price of  their Council Owned Property.

I even involved my Labour  Member of Parliament for Hartlepool
Iain Wright M.P.  who I thought, being  my Member of Parliament,  would have been interested in this Issue,  and would have wanted to know,  “IF” the Right To Buy your Council House,  prior to  1980, was available to “ALL” Hartlepool Council House Tenants, and if “ NOT” why “NOT” a Serious but Genuine Question, ?  Was it only available to selected  Tenants, ? I was never invited to Purchase my Council House Property,

Unfortunately,  my M.P.  appears to have lost  interest in what I though would have been a topic of worthwhile Public and Social interest, as I always though and believed  that “ALL” Labour Party Members, including, Members of Parliament in the Period 1945 up to 1980, and even before and after, were Wholeheartedly and Vigorously apposed to Local Councils Selling off Freehold Council House Properties,?

But from my own experiences , most of those who objected most strongly, very quickly jumped on the band wagon and  purchased their Council Houses, ? My research has indicated that more than two (2) million citizens bought their Council Houses  between 1980 and 1998,  ?

I don’t know if Iain Wright M.P. for Hartlepool,  or his Predecessor, Peter Mandleson,  aka,  Baron Mandleson  (now Lord of the Manor ) not  Owton Manor Hartlepool, ? Took advantage of Margaret Thatcher’s Generosity, ? And bought and  lived in a Council House in Hartlepool,   but  I doubt it . ?



Alan Harvey Flounders