I thank the Minister for her statement. I don't know if this is a first; it has probably happened in other legislatures, but to have a Bill that amends an Act that has not yet been commenced, despite being over three years old, is not a regular situation—let me put it no more strongly than that. Indeed, we now hear that the 2016 Act may not be commenced until the end of this Assembly term, so that will be getting on to four and a half years after it was passed.

I think the amending Bill, anyway, reflects a shift in England to end no-fault evictions. However, Deputy Presiding Officer, the Welsh Government does not go quite as far as the English proposals in that section 173 will remain in place with longer notice times and other restrictions. So, I think we need to explain why the difference. The UK Government intends to abolish section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, which is basically equivalent to our section 173, and has just restated in December that it will go ahead to do this. So, the change in Conservative administration has not deflected from that legislative purpose. That said—and I do hope the Minister will give a clear explanation why we are taking a slightly more roundabout approach to this question—we will support the general direction of travel. We do believe that the private rented sector needs strengthening to give a new generation of tenants security and confidence. That said, the legitimate rights of landlords also need to be protected. We want a fair, balanced system, so that we have an effective supply of private rented properties.

Restricting or abolishing section 173 requires section 8 to be robust and effective. Allowing eviction with cause is essential to a healthy private rented sector. Currently, costs—court costs in particular—are a problem, as well as the time it takes to serve a section 8 notice, and there are other legitimate questions that, for instance, the Residential Landlords Association have raised, including whether section 8 should be extended when there is a need to do so. For instance, persistent anti-social behaviour is not a cause to use section 8 at the moment.

And also—and this is my final comment—the Residential Landlords Association have particular concerns about how the student rental market will operate under the reforms that are proposed. I know that we will have an opportunity, obviously, at Committee Stage, to go through these, and I will certainly push these items in detail, so I do hope that we can have a bit more insight this afternoon, but, when the Bill does commence its legislative scrutiny, we'll be seeking to improve this Bill, because we do believe these reforms are due.