To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures her Department is taking to ensure the effective implementation of the mandatory licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation. (105868)

The Department wrote to all local authorities in England setting out the framework for taking forward HMO licensing under the Housing Act 2004.

In addition it has also provided funding for the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) to help with the delivery of training programmes to which all local housing authorities were invited, both for front line staff and strategic policy makers. The training addressed the immediate training needs for implementation of licensing and promoting best practice over the long term. It also encouraged local authorities to create good working relationships with landlords.

The Department has worked with the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) which has extended its remit to include advice and co-ordination of best practice for regulation in the private rented sector and to provide support to local authorities on the licensing provisions of the2004 Act.

A dedicated departmental website has been set up at

www.propertylicence.gov.uk

to provide advice to local authorities, landlords and tenants on licensing issues.

Meetings have also been held with key stakeholder groups to develop the detail of the licensing provisions, and the Department employed secondees from a local authority and landlord association during implementation to advise the Department and work with stakeholders on implementation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions her Department has had with local authority representatives on implementation of the licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation. (105869)

The Department held discussions with key stakeholder groups, including representatives from local authorities, on the mandatory licensing provisions in the Housing Act 2004. The Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) has extended its remit to include regulation in the private rented sector and will provide support to local authorities on implementation of the licensing provisions of the Act. This follows on from the training provided by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) for local authority staff.

The Department has also worked closely with those local authorities that expressed an early interest in the selective licensing provisions in the Act post implementation, and these discussions helped form the guidance for local authorities that was published on14 November 2006.