Ms Rosemary Steen:

This forms part of the submission we are making to the Department. We really want to invest more in our research. I very much welcome comments from members as to how useful they find our data. In the context of the changes facing the sector, it is critical that we continue to be at the forefront of providing that data in briefings such as this and to stakeholders. It is really important. That brings into sharp focus the registration system, the upgrade we need to make to collect more data, and how that should be managed. Part of the decision I made as director was to stand up the disputes systems, which is now operating on a different platform to make it more accessible and more focused on customer service. We have to discuss with Government whether we now want to do that with the registration system so that we can collect more data.

The Deputy also raised the issue of standards. That is part of the challenge. The report of the Housing Commission debated the data that would be required to stand up a rent register. We want to be able to collect that data as part of systematically supporting the sector to evolve.