Holiday lets contribute to the economy, create jobs, increase tourism and are generally a good use of housing. Let me be clear that the Government backs small businesses, including responsible short-term letting, which I recognise brings significant investment to local communities. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge the impact that large numbers of holiday lets concentrated in an area can have on local communities, and I would like to assure you that the Government is alive to these issues.
While holiday homes can bring benefits to local economies, I would like to assure you that the Government takes concerns about the impact of the increase in short-term and holiday letting on communities seriously. As such, the Government has announced that it will bring forward a new tourist accommodation registration scheme, and has passed legislation with the necessary powers to do so. The scheme will give local authorities the data to easily identify short-term lets in their area, making it easier to take action against problematic short-term lets. Earlier this year, the Government consulted on the design of the scheme, and is currently analysing the responses it received.
In addition, the Government consulted on introducing a requirement for planning permission for an existing home to start to be used as a short-term let. This would help give local people greater control over short-term lets in tourist hotspots, in response to concerns about local people in these areas being priced out of homes to rent or to buy. Let me assure you that I will be scrutinising the Government's response when it is published.