Caravan dumped near Welsh Government office over lack of response to housing crisis

Welsh language campaigners have left an old caravan with the words “Hawl i Gartref” (Right to a Home) and their ‘dragon’s tongue’ symbol painted on its side outside the Welsh Government’s office in Carmarthen overnight.

The direct action from Cymdeithas yr Iaith comes as a protest against the Welsh Government’s White Paper on Adequate Housing, Fair Rents and Affordability, which was published yesterday (Thursday 24 October), which, according to the group, is far too weak to address the housing crisis facing Welsh communities.

Symbolism

A spokesperson for Cymdeithas yr Iaith said: “The intention of dumping the caravan tonight is to symbolically ask the government if they expect many of our young people to live in old caravans, seeing as they cannot afford houses in their communities.

“The caravan is also symbolic of the failure of the Welsh Government’s housing policy over 25 years: insufficient, inadequate and short-term.

“Communities across Wales are facing a crisis, with families and young people being forced to leave because of the growing gap between the cost of housing to rent or buy and local wages.

“Instead of recognizing the extent of the crisis and the failure of the open housing market, our Government continues to put its faith in small interventions here and there.

The spokesperson added: “Establishing the right to a home through a transformative Property Act, and ensuring that houses are treated as a community need instead of commercial assets, is the only way to alleviate this crisis. Unfortunately, the Government’s plans don’t come close to that.”

White Paper

The Welsh Government has announced the publication of a new White Paper on proposals for achieving housing adequacy including fair rents and affordability yesterday (24 October 2024).

The paper sets out a long term housing strategy for Wales to provide a measurable framework to support the delivery of housing adequacy for all.

It includes proposals to develop legislation in the next Senedd term, to place a duty on Welsh Ministers to produce a housing strategy to address housing adequacy, including provisions for monitoring, reporting and review.

There is also a consideration of placing a duty on defined public sector bodies to have regard to the housing strategy in discharging their housing functions.

The White Paper also sets out a number of proposals aimed at improving affordability, habitability and accessibility in the private rented sector.

Landlords

It follows a Green Paper which showed a need to improve the robustness of rent data in Wales.

The Welsh Government will now look at proposals for a requirement on landlords to provide rent data to Rent Smart Wales.

The development of the consultation was originally taken forward as part of the previous Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru.

‘Disappointed’

Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant, thanked Plaid’s  Siân Gwenllian, for her engagement and contribution to its development.

Ms Gwenllian says she’s “disappointed” the new White Paper doesn’t include plans to introduce a right to adequate housing and doesn’t offer “anything much on a fairer rents system or local affordability”.

She said: “Despite a housing crisis facing communities across Wales, Labour’s White Paper on Housing encapsulates perfectly their lack of ambition for Wales.

“It’s beggars belief that it’s taken two years to produce a document that is so weak and underwhelming, which falls so short of the original expectations set out in the Co-operation Agreement.

“Tens of thousands of people are trapped on housing waiting lists, nearly a 1000 children are living in B&Bs and unsuitable temporary accommodation, whilst thousands more are forced to live in damp and mouldy homes with high bills.”

Consultation 

Ms Bryant said: “The proposals in this White Paper set out further building blocks in our progressive path towards achieving housing adequacy for the people of Wales and has been informed by the evidence we received to our Green Paper consultation last year.

“I am grateful to everyone who took the time to respond to the consultation or attend one of the consultation events.

“The responses and evidence provided, highlighted the importance of properly defining housing adequacy in a Welsh context and how it can be realised over time.

“The White Paper therefore sets out proposals for the development of a long term housing strategy to provide a clear and measurable framework to support the delivery of housing adequacy for all.”

The consultation will run to 31 January 2025.