, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you for the question. We’re currently doing quite a lot of work with the whole sector on how we will come to a standard, or indeed whether we’ll come to a standard; not everywhere in the UK has that kind of standard. It’s served us well in the past…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
I didn’t quite catch the end of that, I’m afraid, as there are noises off, but I think I got the gist of it. So, what we’re looking at there, Mark, is a way of ensuring that there is a supply of local housing, so that people who need to live and work in the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes, so actually the paper that we put out was a Green Paper, so it wasn't a consultation paper, it was a call for evidence. We got that evidence in. We're now working on the production of a White Paper, which is due this July as part of our co-operation…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you for that, Mark. It's very interesting, the evaluation report, and we'll be looking at it very carefully, of course. But it's very interesting that it's not borne out by the statistics we're getting through Rent Smart Wales, and we need to get…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes, thank you. And you're right, of course, different communities throw up different challenges in terms of finding a secure, safe home for everyone, and it is very important to find the right home. It's not just about four walls and a roof. That's why I was…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes, a very good question, and it's something we've been working on for quite some time. My colleague, Joyce Watson, has been working for a very long time in the construction sector, trying to make sure that we take advantage of a very diverse population…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you very much for that. That is, indeed, a very complex situation. In fact, we've been able to work right down to individual site level right across Wales, to understand the impact on each site of the phosphate levels in the surrounding area, and where…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Diolch, Cefin. We are committed to increasing housing supply, ensuring people have homes that meet their needs now and in the future. Our programme for government commits to delivering 20,000 additional homes for rent in the social sector. Support for market…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you very much, Mark Drakeford, for that. We worked very hard together on what was a very complex set of proposals. It was very important indeed, as I'm sure you remember, to be absolutely accurate in releasing that information. We went through a long…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes, absolutely. The planning system is blind to whether the application is from a public or private sector individual. I'm not going to comment on any individual planning application, but, in general, the planning system is blind to that, and we would of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Well, I think that's just a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Government does its budgets, frankly. We will be bringing forward the legislation in the autumn, as I have just said. The UK Government has not seen fit to contribute in any way to that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes, thank you very much. So, there’s a complex set of things to discuss there. So, the categorisation of the tips is done through the inspection regime. I can absolutely assure you categorically that it doesn’t make any difference who owns that tip. One of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you. The Welsh Government has made a significant investment in the safety of coal tips, introducing a regular inspection and monitoring regime and by making £44.4 million available for maintenance since 2022. We will modernise our legislation through…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning: Working with local government to deliver more affordable homes
Thank you, Jenny. I heard the interview with Andy Burnham and the article on Radio 4 this morning. I was very interested in the right to buy, so we've asked for a meeting with them to understand where they're coming from; it might be a powers issue or…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning: Working with local government to deliver more affordable homes
Yes, thanks, Mike. I agree largely with what you're saying there. That last one: we're not going to do that, but we are going to encourage local authorities to make sure they are fully recouping their costs, which is the same thing put round the other way, I…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning: Working with local government to deliver more affordable homes
Yes, thanks, Carolyn. So, there is a range of things there. We have a construction forum, and it's now chaired by my colleague Jeremy Miles, but we have a subsection of that, which is the housing building forum, and we meet very regularly with those. We're…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning: Working with local government to deliver more affordable homes
Yes, that's a very good question. What we've asked is for local planning authorities to review their LDPs, particularly the housing allocations therein, but they're doing a full review. We're also asking all local authorities in Wales to work at the CJC level…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning: Working with local government to deliver more affordable homes
Diolch, Mabon. I don't disagree with anything you just said, other than the need for new policies. I'm very keen not to have, actually, any new initiatives. I'm very keen to make sure that the initiatives and strategies we have are actually delivered on the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning: Working with local government to deliver more affordable homes
Well, thank you for that series of comments and questions—I think. Just to start off with some of the statistics that you quoted, Mark, and just to be really clear what we're talking about here, when the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats took over the UK…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning: Working with local government to deliver more affordable homes
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. My new portfolio of housing, local government and planning brings together the key elements required to deliver my topmost priorities—tackling homelessness and the commitment to deliver 20,000 additional homes for rent in the social…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Diolch.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Pleasure.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
The housing with care fund. We've changed the name of the fund in order to befuddle the Cabinet Secretary and it's certainly worked. It used to be called the HLF, but now it's called the housing with care fund—I must try and get my head around that. That is…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Yes, I think that's right. I think it's got real potential for step-up, step-down accommodation, as well. And we've got the—. We've changed the name, apologies, Chair. Sorry, say it again—
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Private rented sector: Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Absolutely. The whole modular homes market is one that we've been encouraging for some considerable period of time. It's the fastest way to build low-carbon housing that there is. It's adaptable, it means you can get a much more diverse workforce in the…
