Mark Isherwood
Shadow Housing Minister Mark Isherwood AM has tackled the Welsh Government over the shortage of social homes for rent in Wales.
Mr Isherwood raised the matter this week when responding to the Housing Minister’s Statement on Partnership Working with Housing Associations.
Mr Isherwood, who is concerned that Labour Welsh Government have cut the supply of new homes for social rent in Wales by almost three quarters and the number of units for social rent in Wales by almost 30,000, highlighted the impact of this on people’s health and wellbeing.
Speaking in the Chamber, he said:
“I note from the Welsh Government’s StatsWales figures that for the four years following the recession in the early 1990s over 10,000 new social rental houses were built in Wales, but in the four years up to last December, following the recession of 2008 to 2010, just over 3,000 were built.
“That excludes the first quarter of this year, but National House-Building Council figures say that new home registrations fell again in Wales during the first quarter of this year, but not around the rest of the UK.
“Given that we are seeing perhaps only 30% of supply post-recession, compared with the previous recession, given that social housing is key to wider regeneration, health and wellbeing and given that social housing is not intermediate rent, low-cost home ownership or, more broadly, affordable housing, how is the Welsh Government going to monitor, and deliver on, the actual supply of social housing, given that the social housing grant, in absolute terms, is only half of what it was at the time of devolution—which, in relative terms, is only some quarter of what it was at the time of devolution?”
Mr Isherwood, who said last week that the ‘Bedroom Tax’ is a response to the scandalously small number of social homes built by Labour and to the consequent increases in waiting lists, overcrowding and hidden homelessness, also asked the Minister what discussions he is having with local authorities in the context of working with housing associations in relation to welfare reform.
He said:
“Only three local authorities in Wales applied for the additional funding for discretionary housing payments to help tenants, particularly disabled tenants living in adapted accommodation or those dependent on local support networks…despite the guidance telling them to prioritise those groups. When the data on housing association tenants are affected, that must come from the housing associations themselves”.
“Two weeks ago a former Assembly Member, our colleague Glyn Davies, was in the Westminster Hall debate on housing benefit in Wales. He highlighted good success in his council and paid tribute to the council and local housing association for managing the system in a way that did not lead to evictions and arrears. We also read horror stories about some housing associations in Wales that have apparently not done that groundwork and therefore have a situation that should not be arising—people in adapted accommodation falling into arrears that should not be there.”
