I present the petition on behalf of tenants in the London borough of Sutton, which includes my constituency of Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park. It highlights what tenants in my constituency regard as daylight robbery: 38p in every pound of the rents that they pay to the London borough of Sutton goes to the Treasury rather than towards maintaining their homes in my constituency.

Today, the chair of the Sutton Federation of Tenant and Resident Associations, Jean Crosby, the leader of Sutton council, Councillor Sean Brennan, my hon. Friend Tom Brake and I led a delegation of tenants to lobby Parliament, petition the Prime Minister and meet a housing Minister to make the case for decent home funding and a fair deal for rents in the borough of Sutton.

The petition states:

The Petition of tenants of the London borough of Sutton and others,

Declares that, through the rents they pay, council tenants are net contributors to the Exchequer, paying more to the Treasury in negative subsidy than the Treasury pays out in subsidy with current estimates putting the profit from rents to the Government in 2008-09 at £185 million to £200 million; regrets the fact that the review of housing revenue account subsidy is not yet complete and believes that the current system is unfair and unsustainable; further declares that in the current climate and times of hardship for many, rent increases of over 6 per cent. driven by the Government's rent restructuring policy is unjust; further declares that the £10 million taken from Sutton tenants for last year will be increased by three quarters of a million pounds this year, which now represents 38 per cent. of rent income.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons call upon Her Majesty's Government to reform the system to allow tenants to benefit directly from the rent they pay through investment in the condition of their homes and the quality of the services they receive and to reduce the amount of negative subsidy or at least freeze it until the review is finalised.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.

[P000324]