6. Will the First Minister make a statement on what the Welsh Government is doing to assist park home residents who face paying a 10 per cent commission fee on the sale of their home? OAQ(5)0471(FM)

The Welsh Government played an active role in supporting the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013, which delivered important safeguards for park home residents.

As the Cabinet Secretary knows, there will be a review of the 2013 legislation this year. Will the Welsh Government be contributing to that, and will the Welsh Government intend to do anything about this 10 per cent commission, which is compulsorily extracted from those who want to sell their homes, in exchange for which mobile home park owners do absolutely nothing, because, since the 2013 Act they have no role whatsoever in the sale of these mobile homes? It’s a significant inhibition upon people from selling their homes, especially if, as is usually the case, they tend to be elderly and on low incomes; it’s a significant problem.

I appreciate that Neil Hamilton wasn’t here during the session when we supported, when the Welsh Government supported, the mobile homes legislation presented by Peter Black. It then became the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013, which you refer to. I just need to remind the Member that this legislation consolidates previous legislation relating to park or residential mobile homes and goes much further than comparative legislation in England. For example, we required all sites to be relicensed, and I’m sure that you would welcome that, and for site managers to pass a fit-and-proper-person test. But, subsequent to that, the Welsh Government did commission an independent review of the economics of the park home industry in 2015, and the report has been published, and, clearly, the Cabinet Secretary is looking at that and the options.

Leader of the house, I think it’s very important that we have a system that is transparent and fairly reflects the costs that site owners have, and also the ability for the residents of mobile homes to have a knowledge of what those costs are and to challenge them if necessary. At the moment, it is very opaque and it seems very unfair, and, in terms of where the power is, it’s loaded against the mobile home owners.

Well, David Melding does give a balanced view about the site owners and those, of course, who are purchasing those homes on the park home sites. I am aware that there is a lot of concern that’s been raised; there’s a petition that’s also come forth. I think it is very important to again repeat that we have done more to protect home residents, which is crucial, than other parts of the UK. All park home sites in Wales have had to apply for a new licence, and I’ve said also about the fit-and-proper-person test. And we’ve allowed time for a stricter regulatory regime resulting from the Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013, which, again, I’m glad to say was supported by the whole Assembly as it came through. In fact, I remember Peter Black was congratulated by Mark Isherwood when the Bill went through. But we must clearly look at the points that have been raised this afternoon, and that’s what the Cabinet Secretary is doing.

The majority of park home residents in Wales, as has been mentioned, are over the age of 55 and the most recent report suggests that they are, on average, 71 years old. The vast majority of these residents don’t envisage leaving or selling their homes in the foreseeable future. Will you therefore agree with me that increases in pitch fees to cover losses incurred by park owners that would result from the abolition or reduction of sales commissions is not a good long-term solution, and what consideration has your Government given to this?

Well, the report, the independent report, didn’t actually recommend the removal of the commission rate, but the Cabinet Secretary obviously is looking at the recommendations of the report; he’s not bound by them. He’s considering a range of options on whether further action is merited.