Whether it has any plans to improve protection for private rented sector tenants against any landlords who retain deposits unfairly.

We see the management of tenancy deposits as an integral part of good management and so do not at present have proposals to establish a separate system for controlling the management of deposits.
We are committed to encouraging high standards of management in the private rented sector. The work done so far to take forward the partnership agreement commitment to develop core standards for voluntary accreditation schemes has included the issue of tenancy deposits and their return. The Housing Improvement Task Force has recommended strengthened powers of regulation to complement the voluntary route of accreditation and, as I said on 16 December when I announced by response to the task force proposals, we will explore the possibility of a national registration scheme for all private landlords.