, Local Government and Housing Committee
Ministerial scrutiny session—Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Thank you, James. I know that with the previous Cabinet Secretary a lot of progress has been made in this area, particularly with the former First Minister as well, who was chairing that group. Yes, absolutely, we are making progress and that's something I…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Ministerial scrutiny session—Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
I think homelessness is a really complex issue, as well. It's not just us looking at the statistics, particularly. I think it is really complex and this is something that we're seeing across the UK; it's not just something specific to Wales. There's no…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Ministerial scrutiny session—Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
I think there have been some real strides being made in homelessness across Wales. We know the numbers of people who are homeless and that is something that should sit very difficultly with us all, really, because they’re individuals, and those numbers, you…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Ministerial scrutiny session—Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Siân. Absolutely, it's really important, we have to work really hard to make sure that we don't lose those valuable staff from the sector, and that always is a challenge in terms of attracting staff, but also of retention. In the short term, work has…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Ministerial scrutiny session—Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Yes, just to be clear around—. It’s really important to remember that prevention remains the real focus and the priority to reduce the flow of people going into temporary accommodation. In terms of the housing support grant, you’ll be aware that the housing…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Ministerial scrutiny session—Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Siân. As I said, the terms of reference will be outlined very shortly, so I'll make sure that that is clear in those terms of reference as well, because it's something that I'll be working with the taskforce on. But obviously Julie, with her delivery…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Ministerial scrutiny session—Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Yes. Diolch, Cadeirydd. As I said in the committee a few weeks ago, this is something that we’re looking at as part of a suite of options, because we really know that we need to focus on delivering. This is something that the First Minister is incredibly keen…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Ministerial scrutiny session—Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Just that we’re keen to do that in this Senedd term, and we will be doing that in this Senedd term. I don’t know if there are any specific other details on that, but—.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Ministerial scrutiny session—Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Cadeirydd, and bore da. Yes, you will be aware that the responses to the White Paper did indicate broad support for the ambition and the scope of the proposals within that. We’re still in the process of developing policy and legislation, so it is…
, Plenary
Debate on the Equality and Social Justice Committee Report, 'Sound the Alarm: The Governance of Fire and Rescue Services'
There have been further developments since the committee reported. In particular, earlier this week, the chief fire and rescue adviser published an inspection report raising serious concerns about the effectiveness with which South Wales Fire and Rescue…
, Plenary
Debate on the Equality and Social Justice Committee Report, 'Sound the Alarm: The Governance of Fire and Rescue Services'
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'd like to thank all Members today for their contributions to this really important debate and thank the committee for its thoughtful and important report. We have already indicated in our formal response that we accept all of the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Peredur. Just on the community asset commission that you mentioned, a written statement was published on 24 September. The Welsh Government is committed to ensuring that, wherever possible, community facilities are protected. This commitment has led…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Peredur. In 2024-25, the Government is providing unhypothecated revenue funding of over £5.72 billion and over £1 billion in specific grant funding to support local authorities to deliver both statutory and non-statutory services. Local councils are…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Lee. Thank you for that. I know you raised with me this point generally in the Local Government and Housing Committee a couple of weeks ago, and, following that, I have asked my officials to review the existing networks and forums, and to explore…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
While we currently don't have a specific community of practice for social housing grant, we do have extensive collaboration and strong relationships across the housing sector, with both registered social landlords and local authorities. We are, however, open…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Rhys, and, again, I recognise your work in this area as well. Just to say, I did attend a meeting of the building safety strategic stakeholder group yesterday, in which there were representatives from the Cladiators, as well as others within that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Mike, for that question, and I understand your long-standing interest in building safety here in the Senedd in particular. Our remediation programme has adopted a whole-building approach, which considers both the internal and external fire safety, so…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Our remediation programme is progressing well. Works are under way on 50 private sector buildings, and all 12 major developers have signed up to our developers' contract.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Thank you, Carolyn, for the supplementary question. We are very sympathetic to the financial pressures that local authorities are under, particularly from pay, including that real living wage in social care. We are doing everything we can, but we are really…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, James. I see what you're trying to do there, but thank you for the question. The core funding, as you know, is unhypothecated; it's for local authorities to determine the allocation of funding for its services. Local authorities have prioritised…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
As a Government, we have protected front-line public services as far as possible. Local authorities have a settlement of £5.72 billion this year, an increase of 3.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis compared to 2023-24.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, Altaf. As I said, there is a lot of work going on in this area and it's working across Governments, across partnerships. The local authorities are really playing their role within this, and the housing teams that are tasked to do this said that they…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, John. Absolutely, it's important, and, again, the figures that you raised are individuals, aren't they, and there are the pressures that we do know are on local authorities at the moment in terms of how many people are needing a home. As you've…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Diolch, John. Rough-sleeping is a complex issue, and we continue to work with local authorities to provide supportive assertive outreach to not only assist people off the streets into accommodation, but to ensure they have the support to help them sustain…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government
Thank you, Sam. I think it is really important to think about that, but it's a real balance, because we mustn't compromise on the standards where we're asking people to live. As I said, this is a home, and we want people to live in good-quality homes and…
