We'll be supporting the general principles of this Bill today, as in fact we have for several years now. Plaid Cymru, of course, tabled amendments to the renting homes Bill a few years ago that would have brought about a ban on letting agent fees. But these were, of course, voted down by the governing party, Labour, like so many other policies that they really should be backing. This time they said that it was on the grounds that more research needed to be done as to whether or not it was fair on the poorest people to be charged hundreds of pounds for credit checks that cost just a fraction of that. Shelter Cymru, of course, had done the research and Scotland had already banned letting agent fees. The Government subsequently changed their reasoning when the backbenchers queried it, instead shifting to the position that this wasn't a devolved matter and, therefore, there was nothing that could be done about it. But events overtook them. The Conservatives announced a ban on letting agent fees in England and there was a proposal to ban them in a motion here. How embarrassing for the Welsh Government.

And now that the Tories have finally introduced the Tenant Fees Bill into Parliament this summer, the current Welsh Government has been forced to act and we have this Bill in front of us today. It's about time, and had action been taken earlier, then several thousands of people wouldn't have been out of pocket in the way that they have been.

Research has consistently shown that tenants often face a bill of hundreds of pounds just for even attempting to move into a rented property, with no guarantee that they will move into that property in the end. The fees for things like credit checks can often be disproportionate to the work undertaken, a fact that the committee has demonstrated, and they act as a barrier to the market working properly. So, if, for example, a tenant finds that existing an landlord doesn't repair the property and they are stuck in poor accommodation, then they can be forced to face upfront costs of several hundred pounds for all the fees, advanced rent and other moving costs that will prevent the tenant exercising their consumer power and driving up standards. 

The committee, of course, has several recommendations that we support to improve the Bill in front of us, not least to ensure that the communication of the Bill and enforcement of it means that we don't have yet another piece of paper that just gets ignored. After all, don't we already have too many criminal offences that wealthy people seem to regard as trivial, like tax evasion, speeding, breaking Electoral Commission rules on spending et cetera? So, we have to really make sure that we aren't just adding another toothless piece of legislation to this list, and that's why we in Plaid Cymru expect it fully to be strengthened at the next stage.