On Monday 27th March a few days before Parliament closed down for Easter, Lloyd Russell-Moyle the MP for Brighton Kemptown raised an initial call on the theme of the Private Rented Sector “What steps he is taking to reform the private rented sector.” and he was joined by James Sunderland who is the Conservative MP for Bracknell who added “What steps he plans to take to sanction landlords who do not meet their obligations to vulnerable tenants.” The Minister who responded was not a man but it was Rachel Maclean and her initial response was “In our White Paper, we set out plans to reform the private rented sector, giving renters greater security and safer, higher-quality homes. We will introduce legislation in this Parliament.” However the second question that Lloyd raised was very significant and it was sadly not answered effectively at all. We clearly need to find a way for the Government to be challenged.

Lloyd: I listened to the Minister speak to the Renters’ Reform Coalition last week. She handled the questions very well, and I was pleased to hear her announce that a Bill would be introduced by autumn of this year. But since she gave the speech, 900 people have been served section 21 notices. Every week that we wait means thousands of people being evicted. Today, her Government have announced tougher measures making it easier to evict people. Will she give me assurances that renters will be protected, not forced out, by her new Bill?

Rachel: I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for his kind words, and I am delighted that he was there to hear me reaffirm the Government’s commitment to abolish section 21 evictions as soon as parliamentary time allows. We are levelling up the private rented sector to produce more safeguards for renters and allow more renters to live in safe and decent homes.