Senedd row breaks out over former minister’s new affordable housing role

Emily Price

A row has broken out in the Senedd over whether a backbench Labour MS should have been drafted in to help Welsh ministers meet their housing targets.

In October, Lee Waters – the man behind Wales’ 20mph limit – was appointed by delivery minister Julie James to help deliver 20,000 new low carbon social homes for rent before the end of the Parliament.

The MS for Llanelli previously worked as the deputy minister for climate change under Mark Drakeford but returned to the backbench just before his Labour colleague Vaughan Gething was elected First Minister.

The Welsh Conservatives have argued that a backbencher shouldn’t be brought in to help Welsh ministers meet their commitments.

In the Senedd on Tuesday (March 25), Shadow Counsel General Paul Davies asked the minister for deliver why Mr Waters had been drafted in.

Experts

Ms James said: “The idea that a politician has to be some kind of expert in order to convene a panel of experts and chair that panel to get a result is extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary.

“Should I be asking you about all your individual spokespeople and what their in-depth expertise is on holding their shadow posts?

“Of course that’s not how politics works. How politics works is that we are the conveners and we get the experts to come and help us deliver what we want to deliver.”

Mr Davies mocked the delivery minister by suggesting that the First Minister could also appoint backbench Labour MS Alun Davies to help tackle NHS waiting times.

He said: “I just fail to see how the role of Minister for Delivery is credible, if it just results in bringing in backbenchers to help out struggling ministers.

“Surely, the Welsh Government should be appointing a lead from the housing sector to help spearhead delivery, not another politician.”

‘Outgrageous’

Heckling broke out in the Chamber as Ms James accused the shadow counsel general of making the most “outrageous and extraordinary” set of assumptions she had heard in some time.

She said: “Did you object when we brought David Melding in to help us with child poverty? I do not think you did. We are asking people to use their convening power to bring experts together.

“I know that the Conservatives got into a terrible habit of saying that expertise is not wanted, but that is not something that we agree with on these benches.

“We are asking our politicians to behave as politicians, to use their convening power to get expertise into the Government, so we can make the right decisions. We are not giving a load of contracts to our mates, with no process whatsoever.”

Commenting following the exchange Paul Davies accused the delivery minister of “passing the buck” on key delivery targets to backbench politicians.

He said: “Lee Waters, the minister who gave us default 20mph speed limits, to my knowledge has little to no expertise in housing. So why is he leading the effort to build affordable homes? The Minister for Delivery could not tell me.

“I fail to see how the role of Minister for Delivery can be deemed legitimate or credible if they simply delegate to other less-than-qualified politicians, as opposed to seeking advice from industry experts.”