Steve Brine took part in an important debate on the sale of park homes in the Commons on Thursday 30th October.
The Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP, a well-known and long-standing Park Homes campaigner, joined fellow campaigners including Annette Brooke, Natascha Engel, Conor Burns and Peter Aldous in the chamber as they discussed setting up a review of the current fee of up to 10% of the sale price of a park home payable to the park home site owner.
Steve told the House that he was at the Park Homeowners' rally in Parliament in the summer and saw the strength of feeling about this issue, and told the House Parliament must not legislate in haste and repent at leisure.
Mr Brine has spoken to dozens of local park home owners over various issues during the last four and a half years, as well as a number of local site owners.
Speaking in the chamber, he also raised a previous government report from 2002 which sounded a note of caution about abolishing the 10% charge, saying that the pitch fees could rise to between 20% and 32% if the 10% charge was abolished. In addition, he highlighted the 'Park Home Owners: Know Your Rights" publication, produced following the groundbreaking Mobile Homes Act 2013, which provides better protection for park home residents.
DCLG Minister Brandon Lewis wrapped up the debate by announcing that the government will bring together representatives from across the sector to identify evidence of poor practice where it exists, and to investigate how best to raise standards further and tackle abuse, significantly helping to shape the review of the Mobile Homes Act.
He said the review, which should have an independent chair, will be undertaken in 2017, which will give the Government a couple of years to see the impact of the new laws before they review how they are working.
Pictured; Steve Brine speaking as the Mobile Homes Act was debated in the Commons
More information ...
Check out Steve Brine's dedicated Park Homes web-page here
Read the debate back here
You can watch back here