Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Thursday 7th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Huddleston]

I am always delighted to meet the hon. Lady. She raises some important points, articulating precisely the need for the review, which we have brought in because we are very aware of some of the issues she raised. Some of the individual entities—Airbnb and so on—are already taking action on antisocial behaviour and the number of people who can be at parties. We expect, and require them actually, to continue to be responsible for and responsive to their customers and, indeed, local communities. We have not pre-empted the conclusions of the review, so I ask her to please contribute to that review.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

The hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) is absolutely right to identify the issue that she has in York and in other parts of the country, but will my hon. Friend also bear in mind that these lets generate income for the area too, and many restaurants and other places would probably go out of business were it not for some of these lets?

[Nigel Huddleston]

My hon. Friend is making an important point, and that is why this is a call for evidence. It is about information; we have not come to conclusions or, indeed, decisions about potential legislation. There is a balance to be had here. Many people rent out a spare room, and in particular in these straitened times, it is very important that they can get additional revenue where they can.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ms Dorries]

This has been an objective of mine since I first arrived in the Department. Yesterday I visited the British Library, which holds many of the nation’s treasures. We want to ensure that collections in libraries, museums and art galleries reach across the country, so that everybody has access to and can see, enjoy and learn from those national treasures. At the beginning of my tenure and recently, I asked every organisation to look again at what they are doing to ensure that that happens.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

T5. My right hon. Friend has already said that the penetration of high speed broadband has gone up in just three years from 6% to 69%, particularly in rural areas. However, is she aware that in parts of Westminster and Birmingham, for example, it is very, very slow? What can we do to speed up urban broadband?

[Mr Speaker]

Nowhere more so than in the House of Commons. Come on!