Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what comparative assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) licensing or (b) creating a register for short term holiday lets in the context of monitoring local housing availability.

The Government supports the sharing economy and the benefits it can bring. However, it is also aware of concerns about the uneven regulatory requirements in the guest accommodation sector, and possible negative impacts on some local communities compared to other types of accommodation.

In June, DCMS issued a Call for Evidence on the benefits and challenges presented by the rise in short-term and holiday letting seen in England over the last 10 to 15 years.

The Call for Evidence closed on 21 September and we are now carefully analysing the 4,000 responses we received. The analysis of the responses will inform the next steps, and we will look to provide updates to the sector in due course.