Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Data gaps also mean the Department does not collect the information it needs to evaluate...
Conclusion
Data gaps also mean the Department does not collect the information it needs to evaluate the impact of recent legislative changes. For example, in 2015 it introduced changes in the Deregulation Act to protect tenants from retaliatory eviction after raising complaints with their local authority.51 However, we heard from tenant representative bodies that these changes fails to protect tenants unless a specific enforcement tool is used, leaving many vulnerable to eviction in the wake of a complaint.52 The Department does not collect data on the reasons for evictions, the numbers of improvement notices served by local authorities or the number of complaints that lead to eviction, and is therefore unable to evaluate how effective the legislative change has been in practice.53
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
5: PAC conclusion: The Department lacks good enough data to understand the nature and extent of problems renters face. 5: PAC recommendation: The Department should develop a coherent data strategy to identify and collect the data it needs to: • understand the problems renters are facing; and • evaluate the impact of legislative changes. Once complete, this strategy should be shared with this Committee and the Levelling up, Housing and Communities Committee. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2023 5.2 The department utilises a range of data from various sources to inform policy decisions and ensure effective private rented sector (PRS) regulation, regularly engaging with other government departments, LAs, and stakeholders to enhance insights. 5.3 The annual English Housing Survey (EHS) provides detailed insight into people’s housing circumstances and condition, including private renters. The 2020/2021 EHS headline report is published and will be followed by a series of detailed topic reports in summer 2022. 5.4 Additional analysis on aspects of tenant experience is conducted as required to further understanding. The department commissioned a segmentation of private renters based on socio-economic demographic characteristics, using 2019/2020 EHS data, to explore variations in housing experiences and attitudes among different renters' cohorts. 5.5 The department is working to further develop its approach to data to support its renters reform programme, including improving data on security, quality and local authority level data. The department is conscious of needing to balance reporting demands on LAs, which come with resource and cost implications, with a need to ensure robust oversight of the sector and will continue to work closely with LAs and other stakeholders to support this. 5.6 The department recognises the importance of understanding the efficiency and effectiveness of interventions and is committed to monitoring and evaluating reform programme impacts. 5.7 The department will continue to publish relevant PRS data and will build on our existing data, address gaps where needed, and consider how best to evaluate future PRS reforms. We will continue to work closely with LAs and other stakeholders to consider what further data requirements to fully understand impacts of future reforms and outcomes for tenants and landlords.