Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:48 pm on 1 November 2016.
I’m very grateful for the Member’s questions. There were an awful lot of them, so I’ve tried to scribble them down as you were raising them. The definition of affordable housing: of course, I recognise the issue that wherever you are in Wales, there are different elements that will have an effect there—the cost of housing solutions and markets drives different pricings and need, but there is an affordable definition that we use. I did mention during my statement that, in planning terms, there is a very specific definition that we would consider using in terms of developments. I’m sure the Member will be aware of that, but I’m more than happy to write to the Member in terms of definition, which would be helpful in her appointment as shadow housing Minister.
The CHC—she raises a very valid point about the critical friend situation of the CHC and the WLGA. I think what’s really useful, and what we’ve learnt from our growing up of the experience of the pact, and also the way my team work with the organisation, is that they have a lot of the solutions to this as well. So, it’s almost about recognising that Governments have many skills but not all of them. Where you have experts in the sector, we should use their thought processes. And that’s why CHC and the WLGA, who are developing these properties, are able to give us further advice, and, yes, they are very critical where they need to be, but, actually, we’ve got a very good relationship and we are investing £1.3 billion of public money into housing solutions. And I think it’s very useful that we have a third party looking at how we are able to do that in a more practical way.
I agree with the Member wholeheartedly about the issue of protecting properties when we have them in stock and not moving into the buy-to-let market. And that’s why we’ll be bringing forward legislation with regard to ending the right to buy.
In terms of detail for the 20,000 homes, it doesn’t actually add value in terms of additionality within that number, but what it does do is protect the stock that we already have, and future stock that will be investment. So, it’s a protection tool in terms of our long-term investment.
Help to Buy is an important point the Member raised. I need to check the figures, but I’m pretty sure, when we introduced the scheme, that the scheme, in relation to England and Wales—that the thresholds are very different. I think our upper limit is around £300,000, and I think the UK threshold is £0.5 million. But I will check—and if I’m wrong, I apologise to colleagues, but I will check and I will write to the Member on that process. We also recognise that there is a difference in terms of the markets, and the availability of properties here.
What we’re trying to do here is give a mix of tenure. Many people are seeking to enter the housing market, at very different levels, whether that be social housing or the private sector market. And there are barriers in all of those fields, and we’re trying to create a space where we can help people move into home ownership—physically or in a rental market, through social housing—what is right for those.
In regard to the Housing Act the Member raised in regards to Shelter Cymru’s views—I will give that some further consideration. I would hate to think that any of our organisations that we fund directly are in the market to evict people, as their first point of call. I don’t think it’s right, morally, and therefore I will give that some further consideration as we move forward.