Rebecca Evans: Analysis—. Well, we've got our own responsibilities here that are devolved to us in the Welsh Government. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies also shows that households in Wales will lose 1.6 per cent of their net income on average, or around £460 a year, from the UK Government's tax and benefit reforms introduced between 2015-16 and 2019-20. This is equivalent to around £600...
Rebecca Evans: I'm winding up. I do not support the devolution of welfare or the administration of welfare to Wales. The devolution of welfare benefits to the Scottish Government has transferred the associated financial risk, with the demand for welfare benefits growing faster per head in Scotland than in England from the point of devolution. For Wales, this would pose a significant and unacceptable...
Rebecca Evans: We have a long-term positive trend in house building in Wales, and the reality is that the number of new dwellings started in Wales increased by 2 per cent in 2016-17, compared to the previous year, and this is the second highest annual number recorded since the start of the recession in 2007.
Rebecca Evans: Well, Welsh Government, as you'll be more than aware, is committed to pursuing all avenues in order to create and build homes, particularly affordable homes, with our target of 20,000 over the course of this Assembly, but also homes for market sale as well. There are a number of ways in which we're doing that. We recognise the important role that the SME sector will play in terms of meeting...
Rebecca Evans: Formally.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. I think this debate has been very useful and very positive, and I hope I'm able to respond in similarly useful and positive terms. I'm really glad to have this opportunity to talk about the exciting work that we're doing to find new and creative solutions to Wales's pressing housing needs. Our innovative housing programme is designed to test new ways of increasing the supply of...
Rebecca Evans: Formally.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you, and I very much welcome this debate today. We clearly all want to end homelessness, and we do know that prevention is the best way in which to achieve this. I think that Rhun ap Iorwerth really shared some strong evidence as to why the preventative approach as a priority does make sense. Our progressive approach focused on prevention has achieved a lot, but we are confronted with...
Rebecca Evans: Yes.
Rebecca Evans: Well, I think that there is a clear case for creating larger, more flexible funding streams that cut down on bureaucracy and support more strategic programme alignments to meet local needs, but, equally, I have to say that it is really important to recognise that no final decision has been taken. We do have the Pathfinder projects, which are looking at what that larger grant might look like...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. Our research shows that the welfare changes from 2010-11 to 2015-16 have hit the south Wales Valleys hard. This includes Torfaen, which was the seventh worst affected local authority area in Wales, with average income losses above those for Wales as a whole. In terms of the welfare changes introduced since 2015-16, and those that are continuing to roll out over the next few years,...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you very much for that question, and I share your deep concern about the impact that universal credit, particularly, but welfare reform and austerity in the wider sense, are having on our communities. It's a concern that's shared by the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services, who, today, actually, has met with the leader of Torfaen council, and part of the...
Rebecca Evans: The Welsh Government absolutely agrees that work should pay, which is why we have such severe concerns about universal credit, which actually means that in many cases work doesn't pay. People who are in employment, such as lone families, and families with disabled people who are in employment, some of them will actually see their income fall as a result of the impact of universal...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for the question. I welcome the ending of the tolls and the benefits that it will bring to Wales. I recognise that this could influence housing demand and prices in the region. I'll be meeting with both Newport and Monmouthshire local authorities to discuss this issue in more detail, and I have already had some early discussions with house builders.
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for the question. Having complete coverage of adopted local development plans across Wales is really crucial in terms of ensuring that the homes that Wales needs are delivered. For the South Wales East area, there are significant opportunities and challenges that are larger than any single local planning authority, and are certainly best addressed through local authorities working...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for the question, and almost any discussion I ever have in this portfolio does include the important role of making sure that we hit our 20,000 target for affordable homes. But I'm also really keen to ensure that we do increase the speed and the amount of the development of homes for market sale as well, because we know that we need the whole diverse package in Wales to meet...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you for the question. The issue of empty homes is an issue of concern for the Welsh Government. There have been, as you say, some good projects delivered under our empty homes project in particular, but it is an opportunity, really, to look right across our opportunities for regeneration to see how we can turn, for example, empty shops in our high streets into homes. That's something...
Rebecca Evans: Well, this is certainly one of those four areas of a potential future Welsh tax that Welsh Government has been considering and has been subject to a poll undertaken by the Welsh Treasury to understand the views that people might have on this as one of the potential four. Obviously, you wouldn't expect me to make any announcement on the way forward today, because it is still a matter for...
Rebecca Evans: The way in which the councils generally approach the issue of empty homes tends to be, in the first instance, to try and work with the owner of the property in order to bring that home back into use. But then, if that fails, the empty dwelling management orders are there for local authorities to avail themselves of and I would encourage them to do so if they feel that it is appropriate to do....
Rebecca Evans: Welsh Government is working with Community Housing Cymru, the police, police and crime commissioners and other stakeholders to develop a national approach to tackling anti-social behaviour for use by all social housing providers in Wales.
