Plaid Cymru supports this proposal. Clearly, it is entirely unacceptable that landlords provide accommodation free of charge, but expecting to be ‘paid’ with sexual favours, and I truly hope that there is a way of preventing this. Unfortunately, as we have heard, there is evidence that this is happening in London, Bristol, Birmingham, in Scotland, and, unfortunately, now here in Wales too. There is some evidence that it is happening across the world, and there were reports recently of people in a number of countries advertising accommodation free of charge for sexual favours, be it a house or flat share or a spare room. People are forced into these unacceptable situations due to a combination of reasons, including high rents and high house prices in cities, and the fact that most young people have to live in these cities in order to start their careers.

I do hope that this amendment to the housing Act can prevent this from happening, if the motion is approved. But, even if the practice is prohibited, it will be difficult to take action against those who break the law because of the hidden nature of the crime. First of all, people who rent a room out in their own house don’t get captured under the landlord licensing system, and, secondly, victims could decide not to report the offences to police because they fear that they will be evicted by the landlord and thereby made homeless. The Metropolitan Support Trust report states that reporting on the offences will create additional concerns and anxieties for some victims. So, there is no assurance that including this amendment in legislation and changing the legislation would lead to the change that we all want to see.

Therefore, what would make a real difference ultimately? Well, as David Melding has mentioned, part of the solution certainly is to provide more affordable housing. If there are more appropriate houses available at affordable rents, then fewer people will be forced into these unacceptable situations. We also need to ensure that there are homeless prevention services and shelters of an acceptable standard so that people feel confident in leaving a situation where they are facing abuse. But perhaps there is a social, moral question at play here too in terms of gender equality and the use of sex as a weapon by one person against another, and, more often, it’s a male using that weapon on a woman. But that’s perhaps a broader issue for discussion on another day.

To conclude, therefore, improving legislation could help. Discussing the issue here today and raising the profile of the issue is sure to help too. But I also believe that we need to address those long-term issues if we are to see real change and the scrapping of this practice once and for all.