Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received on park home owners being required to pay both the site licence fee and the site inspection fee; and if he will make a statement.

Since the new site licensing regime came into force on 1 April 2014, my Department has received one enquiry with anecdotal evidence of park home owners being required to pay a site licence fee and a site inspection fee.

We have made sure the process for charging fees is transparent by requiring local authorities to publish their policy on how they will set the fees. We have also published guidance for local authorities on matters that can and cannot be taken into account in setting fees.

If a home owner and site owner are in dispute about whether or what amount of the annual charge can be recovered through the pitch fee, either party can apply to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a determination.

We recognise that more work needs to be done to change the culture of the sector. We have therefore set up a Minister-led working group to identify evidence of poor practice in the sector and investigate how best to raise standards further.