Draft Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Ruth Cadbury Excerpts

Thursday 20th May 2021 General Committees

[Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey, I believe for the first time—and certainly for the first time in my new role as shadow planning Minister. I am happy to support the statutory instrument, which corrects the reference to

“the Local Government Act 1992”

within the Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020. We have no problem at all, obviously, with that change, but I will leave the Minister with two questions. I hope that he will get back to me in writing in due course.

The arguments in favour of the 2020 regulations, which today’s draft regulations amend, surely also support the strengthening of the rogue landlord database, so will the Government commit to making that a priority as part of the Queen’s Speech commitment to enhance the rights of those who rent? Given the Minister’s responsibilities, I want to mention an additional specific group of people in private managed accommodation for vulnerable people where I have some concerns as well.

Secondly, the provisions of the 2020 regulations have yet to come into force, so I would be grateful if the Minister let us know how his Department is working with local authorities to get ready for 1 July—the first stage of implementation. Are the Government confident that councils have sufficient officer capacity to implement the new, and welcome, regulations, given the cuts that so many councils have had to make to their staff complement?

[The Chair]

Before the Minister speaks, I should say that I have just received clarification from the Clerk that the speech that he gave yesterday will not be in Hansard. If he wants it recorded, he should read it again.