Mike Hedges AM asks for Government Statement on how the Welsh Government will encourage more council building

Mike Hedges AM asks for Government Statement on how the Welsh Government will encourage more council building

Speaking after the Plenary Session in the Assembly, Swansea East AM Mike Hedges said…. ‘I have long been a supporter of Council House building; I am thrilled by the recent new council house building programs, especially my own local council in Swansea. However, the good start will be only a small step on the road to providing good housing for all of our citizens. It seems to me that for the required number of houses to be built, there will be a need a partnership between local councils and the Welsh Government, who will have significant power to drive this process forward. I welcome the Minister’s reply and look forward to seeing a significant increase in the number of council houses built in the coming years.’

Mike Hedges AM - The other statement I'm asking for is on the Government's plan to support the building of council houses. We know that the only time since the Second World War that sufficient housing was built to meet housing demand was when large-scale council housebuilding was undertaken by Labour and Conservative Governments in the 1950s and 1960s. I'd like to return to that in terms of getting people into adequate houses, rather than sleeping on the streets or in inadequate accommodation. So, can I ask for a statement on how we're going to get more council houses, or council houses built at scale in the near future?   

Rebecca Evans - I share your ambition for local authorities to be building council houses at scale and at pace, and you'll be aware that as part of our housing pact with Community Housing Cymru, and as part of our efforts to meet the 20,000 affordable homes target, local authorities are expected to deliver around 1,000 of those new homes. And I look forward very much to hearing about the outcomes of the affordable housing review, which will also look at how we can support local authorities to start building at scale and pace. 138

I know Mike Hedges has raised the issue of the borrowing cap several times in the Chamber, and I'm pleased to confirm that officials have been in contact with our local authorities, and all 11 local authorities who were subsequently subject to the voluntary agreements which enabled them to exit the former housing revenue account subsidy system have now agreed that they would like those voluntary agreements to be terminated. So, I'm very much looking forward to local authorities starting to build at scale and pace.