Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:59 pm on 14 March 2017.
I thank the Member for her questions. She’s right to raise the issue: for every 20, nine have been sold off since 1981. Even more stats to add to that: we’ve sampled around eight authorities in Wales where we already know the ones that have been sold, so, of that 48 per cent of the ones that have been sold, 12 per cent of them have got into the private sector rental market, as well, so they’re not even being used as right to buy; they’re being used as profit-making programmes for investors—again, something that is not helpful for the provision of affordable homes for individuals.
In terms of the last point about information sharing, we will give that some further thought, whether that be information that is sent out by Welsh Government or whether it’s by social housing. But it is something that I’d be very keen to ensure, that where a voluntary sale takes place by an RSL or a council, that that money is back, reinvested into housing policy again, and that would be an important principle that I will be hoping to follow through in terms of the committee.