MSs raise alarm over ‘housing emergency’ in Wales

Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter

Wales faces a housing crisis, with almost 140,000 people on social housing waiting lists and more than 11,000 trapped in temporary homes, the Senedd heard.

Mark Isherwood, the Tories’ shadow housing secretary, accused the Welsh Government of slashing funding since 1999, ignoring warnings and setting a supply crisis in motion.

He said the number of new homes completed by social landlords in Wales fell from an average of more than 2,600 a year to 785 between 1997 and 2010.

Mr Isherwood, who chairs the Senedd’s public accounts committee, said Welsh ministers set only one housing target this term – to build 20,000 low-carbon social homes by 2026.

But he warned: “Only 3,120 new homes were completed in Wales by social landlords in the first three years of this Senedd term, well short of the 20,000 Welsh Government target.”

‘Moving goalposts’

Mr Isherwood accused the Welsh Government of moving the goalposts by including some other types of houses in the total counted towards the target.

Referencing an Audit Wales report, he said the target will be missed by up to 4,140 homes.

His Plaid Cymru counterpart Siân Gwenllian agreed Wales is in the midst of a housing crisis, with use of temporary homes at a record high.

She said: “At the end of May, there were 11,384 people in temporary accommodation, a third of whom were children under the age of 16. Most were located in bed-and-breakfast accommodation or hotels, living in completely unsuitable conditions.”

Ms Gwenllian, who represents Arfon, said Bevan Foundation research revealed only 30% were successfully moved to permanent homes in 2023/24.

She warned of recruitment and retention problems, with 67% of workers funded by the Welsh Government’s housing support grant paid less than the real living wage.

‘Challenging’

In a statement on October 1, Jayne Bryant said the Welsh Government has allocated more than £1.4bn to housing supply since the start of the Senedd term in 2021.

Wales’ housing secretary, who was appointed in September, told the Senedd a new affordable homes task force will be set up shortly.

She said a fund, with an indicative value of £100m, to support transitions from temporary housing has received an overwhelming response and created a pipeline of projects.

Ms Bryant stressed that ministers set a deliberately challenging and ambitious target.

She cautioned: “We know we need more homes and we need those homes more quickly but it is more challenging than ever to build new-build homes in current conditions.”

The Welsh Government accepted all seven recommendations from the Audit Wales report.

Borrowing

Mike Hedges, a Labour backbencher who represents Swansea East, suggested allowing councils to borrow against the value of new-build housing.

He called for more cooperatively owned houses and for properties empty for more than five years to be compulsorily purchased by councils at current value.

Janet Finch-Saunders warned spending on temporary accommodation has “ballooned”.

The Tory asked: “Can you imagine living as a family, or even an individual, in a hotel room for months on end, with no cooking facilities, no proper washing facilities?”

Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams raised the Welsh Refugee Council’s warning that asylum seekers, once granted permission to stay, have only 28 days to leave accommodation.

Labour’s Carolyn Thomas expressed concerns about years of cuts to planning.

Ms Bryant, who is responsible for councils but not planning policy – which rests with economy secretary Rebecca Evans – agreed that planning will play a pivotal part.