Samantha Dixon

I acknowledge the hon. Member’s points and I am sure that the Minister will respond to them in due course. The hon. Member for St Ives is right to highlight the rapid growth in short-term lets in our communities. Chester has a strong heritage and leisure industry that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, and the growth of our visitor economy has risen in step with the number of short-term lets. In Chester, and many other communities across the country, the proliferation of short-term lets has the potential to erode the supply of housing in the private rented sector. In turn, that may drive up rents for hard-pressed families. It is right that this issue is given the attention we are giving it today. Short-term lets certainly have their place in a vibrant tourism economy across the UK. Indeed, I am proud that Sykes Holiday Cottages, a company that takes its responsibilities in this area seriously, is headquartered in my constituency. None the less, the growth in this sector must not come at the expense of our local communities. In the light of that, I was pleased to hear the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport reconfirm the Government’s commitment to the regulation of short-term lets, providing local leaders the power to balance local need for affordable housing while still benefiting from tourism in their areas. The short-term lets register will take decisive steps in an area that the Bill seeks to regulate. I am sure we will hear from the Minister for Housing and Planning about this in due course. I know that he has spent a substantial amount of time with the hon. Member for St Ives discussing this particular issue.