Rebecca Evans: I completely agree that full and genuine engagement with tenants at the earliest point possible is really vital, and this is one of the reasons that I am pleased that the regulatory board for Wales has decided to commission a review of tenant engagement in Wales, and that will aim then to set out a vision for tenant involvement for the future seeking to understand what tenants are looking for...
Rebecca Evans: I'll certainly look at that issue in terms of how we can encourage, through guidance, which will become statutory, the importance of ensuring that tenants are skilled and equipped and confident to be challenging board members. I'm very keen that, in all circumstances, board members understand that their role is very much there as a role of challenging and scrutiny, and they should always be...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. I formally move the motion and I'd like to take this opportunity to again thank the Finance Committee for its scrutiny. I will write formally to the committee to outline my response to the three recommendations in detail, although I did indicate my initial thoughts in my previous response.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much. I just take this opportunity to reiterate that I intend to respond positively to all three of the recommendations of the Finance Committee. Thank you.
Rebecca Evans: Yes. Help to Buy—Wales is issuing new contract variations to all house builders using the scheme, not just the largest five. These new terms will limit the use of Help to Buy—Wales for houses on leasehold to exceptional circumstances. It will also ensure the leasehold terms for any Help to Buy—Wales home, including flats, are fair. In addition to this, the five major house builders have...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for those questions, and I would say that the announcement that I have made this week is only the start of my ambitions for leasehold, and the start of the action that I intend to take in this area. You'll recall we had a really instructive and useful debate here in the Chamber at the end of January, and I gave an undertaking at that point to bring forward as many early...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you very much for those questions. Just to clarify, the exceptional circumstances that were referred to in the statement are highlighted in the Leasehold Reform Act 1967. So, they include things like land owned by the National Trust, the Crown, a local authority or within a cathedral precinct, and also includes land of a special architectural or historical interest where it's...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much, and I'm very grateful to Julie Morgan for choosing 'no fault' section 21 notices as a subject for this debate today, and I'm also grateful to Julie for the very helpful meeting that she organised last week to give me and my officials the chance to explore the issues in more depth with Julie, with Dawn Bowden and with Shelter. I've been really pleased to have some further...
Rebecca Evans: As well as growth in the private rented sector since the 1988 Act, the overall quality of properties has improved. Some have attributed this to removal of rent controls and the introduction of section 21, which gave landlords greater certainty over regaining possession. The growth in the private rented sector followed decades of decline. While the previous system of rent Act tenancies...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much, and I also am grateful to Hefin for bringing forward this debate today. There's been a great amount of media attention recently and some really serious concerns raised by AMs about the various issues affecting people who own their homes on a leasehold basis. I was pleased to announce a package of measures to begin to address those concerns just over a week ago. However,...
Rebecca Evans: Absolutely. My intention is to use the constructive relationship that we have built, as evidenced by the recent agreement that we've secured from the house builders, to start to move on and explore the issues that have been raised in this debate today. In response to Members' leaseholders concerns, I've already introduced a brand new Wales conveyancer accreditation scheme in order to ensure...
Rebecca Evans: I thank you very much for raising this issue and I'm very keen to work with the private rented sector to break down the barriers that we see in terms of the private rented sector providing housing for people who are in receipt of benefits. But, even more than that, I want the private rented sector to play its role in housing people who are coming directly off the streets. And we are able to...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you. I'll certainly be happy to take this up with my counterparts in the UK Government. I write, on a very frequent basis, to the UK Government expressing the Welsh Government's concerns over many aspects of the implementation of universal credit, not least the impact that it is having in terms of rent arrears and the increase that we're seeing across all tenure sectors as a result of...
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for that and I will give my commitment to you that we do see the private rented sector as integral to delivering our ambitious housing first aspirations. But, I would also add that, just last week, I did have a meeting with Tai Pawb, who Welsh Government funds in order to try and create a housing picture in Wales, if you like, which is accessible to everybody. Tai Pawb...
Rebecca Evans: We know the third-year freeze to most working-age benefits will be the most painful yet. I'm extremely concerned about the devastating impact welfare reforms are having on low-income households. I've repeatedly expressed our concerns to the UK Government and called for a halt to universal credit roll-out.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much for that question. I can certainly confirm that the Welsh Government continues to make strong and repeated representations to the UK Government regarding the impact that their welfare reform programme and austerity programme is having on people in receipt of benefits. We are really concerned because, actually, this is just the start. Many people are starting to think,...
Rebecca Evans: This really is a question for the UK Government. The fact that the Welsh Government does interact and engage with the UK Government on these issues, as you'd expect us to, in order to voice strongly the concerns that we're hearing amongst people within our communities, does not mean that the Welsh Government is responsible for the decisions that the UK Government makes. The UK Government has...
Rebecca Evans: Providing good-quality social housing in Wales is a priority for this Government, and is central to our 20,000 homes target. We are making more than £6 million available in Torfaen this year for new social housing. We have also protected existing social housing stocks by ending the right to buy.
Rebecca Evans: Formally moved.
Rebecca Evans: Thank you very much, Llywydd. I would again like to thank the Chairs and members of the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee, the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, and the Finance Committee for their detailed scrutiny of the Bill throughout Stage 1 and Stage 2. I would also like to thank the stakeholders who provided written and oral evidence and Assembly...
