Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Cat Smith

Wednesday 13th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. We will be looking carefully at the evaluations from the 2018 pilots and—when they come forward in a few months—the 2019 pilots to help inform our next steps and to shape how the final policy will look when introduced. We can benefit from close collaboration with local authorities, and we would welcome the involvement of Crawley as we progress.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

There have been reports that the Conservative party is preparing to take part in the upcoming European elections. The Opposition have heard that on Monday, there was a telephone conference between the Cabinet Office and regional returning officers, who would run such an election, during which preparations for European elections were discussed. Are the Government saying one thing in public and another in private?

[Brandon Lewis]

As I said to the hon. Lady’s colleague earlier, she should not believe every rumour she reads in a newspaper or on Twitter. It is simply not true.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Cat Smith

Monday 6th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

I am proud that the Conservative-led Government in the last Parliament were the first to finish a Parliament with more affordable homes than they started with. We lost 420,000 under the Labour Government, who sold 170 homes for every one they built. That is why the one-for-one provision increases housing supply. We went ahead of our target in the last Parliament and we now have the largest building programme since the 1970s. That is something for us to be very proud of.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

15. What steps his Department is taking to help increase growth, prosperity and the number of jobs in coastal communities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Cat Smith

Monday 14th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

22. What plans he has to tackle landlords who knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation.

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Brandon Lewis)]

The Housing and Planning Bill contains measures to tackle and go further with rogue landlords than anything we have had before. We want to rule out rogue landlords who rent out substandard accommodation and to do all we can to ensure that tenants have a good and safe environment. Our proposals include a database of rogue landlords and letting agents, banning orders for serious or repeat offenders, a tougher fit and proper person test, extending rent repayment orders and introducing civil penalties.

[Cat Smith]

Over the past five years, despite the poor quality of many privately rented homes, rents have soared and they are now a fifth higher than they were in 2010. Why are the Government not taking any steps in their new Housing and Planning Bill to help private renters with these soaring rents?

[Brandon Lewis]

If the hon. Lady looks at the private rented sector over the past five years, she will see that its increases are, on average, lower than the increases in the social housing sector, hence our reason for the changes in the Budget. We are going a lot further than ever before in cracking down on rogue landlords, whom everyone across the House would like to see put out of business.