Property: London Lettings
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Hooper
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
As the noble Lord will be aware, we are working closely with London’s local authorities. As a former member of a London local authority, I can assure him that there is differing opinion between those boroughs within the central part of the capital city and those further afield. As I said earlier, it is important that we strike the right balance, I assure the noble Lord that we are working with local authorities in London to ensure that. We are working in conjunction with them to ensure that the provisions are in the interests both of residents who choose to let their homes and of those who choose not to.
Baroness Hooper (Con)
My Lords, in his answers, my noble friend the Minister has referred to resident home owners letting on short lets. How does this apply to non-resident home owners? I appreciate that this is perhaps a particular problem in London, which suggests to me that London should be made a special case.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
My noble friend makes an important point about non-residents. We have made provisions such that, for any non-resident seeking to take advantage of selling their property, there will capital gains tax and repercussions in that regard.
Universities: Part-time Students
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Hooper
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
I was not aware of the seminar that the noble Baroness mentioned but if she would like to enlighten me on it I would be happy to talk to her outside the Chamber. I fully acknowledge that the number of part-time students in higher education institutions has declined, but as I said, this is a matter that employers have to work with as well. Many employers who were facing challenging economic circumstances were not releasing people to go and study part time. The other point I would make is that the higher education offering has changed as well, and I give the example of Birkbeck College. When I talked to people there, I was interested to note that there is now a higher take-up of evening degree courses which are run on the equivalent of a full-time basis. The actual offering of institutions is changing, and that is having an impact on the figures.
Baroness Hooper (Con)
My Lords, what proportion of students studying at our universities are international or overseas students, and what are the Government doing to promote this aspect of our university education system?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
As my noble friend will be aware, the Government do not offer loans for university tuition to international students. I acknowledge that we have seen a decline in the number of international students coming to the UK as compared with some of our other European partners. The Government are making it clear through the reforms we are making in higher education—such as the opening-up of caps on university admissions—that the UK is open for business to anyone who wishes to come here to study on an accredited basis at an accredited institution. The Government take this most seriously.