3. What action will the Welsh Government take to increase the supply of new houses in Wales during the fifth Assembly term? OAQ51311

House building in Wales is a key priority for this Government, reflected by our ambitious 20,000 affordable homes target. Statistics show an increasing trend in the number of new homes being completed, which we will continue to support with our successful programmes, including the social housing grant.

Thank you very much for that answer, Minister. Last year, the Home Builders Federation stated that poor planning and the higher costs associated with building homes in Wales have compromised investment. Now, house builders express concern that the lack of detail over the potential new tax on vacant development land could further discourage larger developers from investing in Wales. Does the First Minister agree that increasing the burden of tax and regulation on house builders will not increase the supply of new homes that Wales desperately needs at this moment? Thank you.

Well, if he's talking about the sprinklers, can I remind him that his own party didn't oppose the introduction of the sprinklers legislation? Of course, we always seem to look to strike a balance between what is appropriate regulation and then, of course—[Interruption.] He was in a different party at the time—the Member is correct—so I'll have to revise the point that I made. He supported the sprinklers regulation, I believe, on that basis.

We look to strike a balance between appropriate regulation and encouraging house building. We've done it through the social housing grant. We've made sure that we are not losing council houses through them being sold, to make sure that they're kept in the public housing stock. We've made sure as well, of course, that, through Help to Buy Wales, there are options open for people to buy houses, which they otherwise wouldn't have the option to do. So, we have a good record when it comes to housing, and we are on track to meet our target.

I would argue that it's important that we address housing need far more, in fact, than we address housing demand. And housing need is those people on lowest incomes who aren't even recognised on the demand curve. Local development plans hopelessly fail to address housing need, and instead deliver expensive executive accommodation in areas like Caerphilly, in the south of my constituency. They don't deliver affordable housing. Will the First Minister accept that more needs to be done to deliver affordable housing, and particularly work with local authorities and registered social landlords to deliver affordable housing in the northern reaches of the communities that I represent, and recognise that LDPs, at this point in time, are failing to do that?

LDPs have to be up to date. The difficulty of running a local authority is that if any local authority has a development plan where the five-year housing supply is no longer relevant, they are at risk of speculative housing developments, and it is hugely important that there is a development plan in place. But his point is well made. It is hugely important that there is a proper balance between houses and the availability of housing according to what people can afford. That's why, of course, local authorities can retain the money and build new council homes, following the successful exit of the housing revenue accounts subsidy system, so that local authorities can build council houses again. We have the affordable housing grant, of course, which looks to help people to get accommodation that is affordable to them, and, of course, there's making sure that people don't become homeless in the first place—Supporting People is an example of that. We have to make sure—and we've been successful in doing that—that people don't actually become homeless. But it is right that local authorities should be aware, as they develop their development plans, of the need to secure the right balance of housing; they can't all just be housing at one end of the market—that's true.