House of Commons — sitting of 3 September 2026: transcript & video

00:25 - 01:19

Speaker 3

Order, order. Before we start the questions, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary Sir Billy Boston. He was a pioneer in the rugby world, switching codes from Union to League, a record try scorer for Wigan, the second all-time scorer of tries, a World Cup winner for his country, and the first ever Rugby League player to receive a knighthood. And he was also known for the BBC documentary, The Codebreakers, where because he was black, he couldn't play for Wales, he couldn't play for Cardiff, and he was an exile that had to come north. May that never happen again.

And we wish Billy peace in his death. Right, let us start with the questions. Can I start with Joe Powell for Secretary of State for Digital, Media and Sport?

01:19 - 01:21

Speaker 1

Number one please, Mr. Speaker.

01:21 - 02:00

Speaker 2

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and can I associate myself with your kind words about the legend that is Sir Billy Boston. It was also a real pleasure to hear you say the words Wigan without choking in the context of Rugby League. This government is committed to implementing the regulation of short-term lets. We believe in our communities and we believe in their right to shape their own areas. This regulation is about putting power back into people's hands so that they can shape the right balance between the benefits that tourism brings and the needs of people locally to decent housing.

02:00 - 02:37

Speaker 6

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the summer, the abuse of short-term lets in my community has continued, including breaches of lease, anti-social behavior, subletting of private rented properties and social housing, and even short-term lets hosting brothels. We still don't have a way of identifying where these lets are, so enforcement action can be taken, or of implementing London's 90-day cap on lets. So can I ask the Secretary of State to please do all she can to make it a priority to tackle these serious harms, let us know when the register will be going live, and work with those of us affected and local councils so we can find solutions for our communities.

02:37 - 03:11

Speaker 2

Can I assure him that we certainly will, and the problem that he points to is a problem across the country. I recognize it in my own constituency of Wigan, where the council has taken decisive action to clamp down on HMOs, and instead what we've seen are short-term lets springing up to get round the ban, which is causing havoc in local communities. Can I reassure him that the Prime Minister in his first week in the job asked me to accelerate this work, and that work is now continuing at pace. In any case, the register will be up and running in full by March.

03:11 - 03:31

Speaker 4

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In rural areas like Glastonbury and Somerton, the growing number of short-term lets is displacing local families and workers from the rented sector, hollowing out our rural communities.

So what steps is the Minister taking to make sure any new regulation protects rural rented stock from being removed from the market?

03:31 - 04:05

Speaker 2

It's precisely why we're bringing forward these measures to introduce a register of short-term lets. We believe that local leaders need to have the ability to understand what is happening in their own local areas and to be able to shape and to drive that in order to make sure that they can have the benefits of tourism. And in some areas, there may be places that would want to have more short-term lets available to support the tourism industry. But there are other areas, including in her constituency, where there is a real need for local housing for local people, and local leaders should have the power to be able to provide that.

04:05 - 04:08

Speaker 5

Question two, Mr. Speaker.