Putting an end to homelessness is one of the key reasons I entered politics. As recently as Monday night, when I attended an event in Cardiff, I was confronted with the sad situation of two gentlemen, homeless, in need of a cup of coffee. In the twenty-first century, homelessness is morally reprehensible. In the prison service, I saw many young men who committed crimes simply to have a roof over their head and hot meals served to them, while other poor souls had been arrested for vagrancy.

Whilst the causes of homelessness are many, the main contributor is the lack of housing. We simply aren’t building enough new homes, particularly affordable and social housing. Experts predict that we need to build around 12,000 new homes a year, yet less than half that number are being built. This lack of housing has resulted in 2,652 households becoming homeless between April and June of this year, and saw nearly an additional 2,000 threatened with becoming homeless within eight weeks. There are around 2,000 households in temporary accommodation, and over 200 of those are in bed and breakfasts. Thirteen per cent of those in B&Bs were families with children. This is totally unacceptable. These families need homes urgently, yet there isn’t enough social or affordable housing to meet that need.

The Welsh Government has a target to build around 4,000 affordable homes a year, yet only three quarters of that amount were built last year and they are relying on the private sector to build over a third of affordable housing in Wales via section 106 agreements.

Private developers tell us that they are being hampered from building more homes due to red tape and an overly bureaucratic planning system. They also state that there is an inadequate supply of land and additional costs as a result of building regulations and the method of providing affordable housing on new developments. Simply put, Wales is a less desirable place to build houses due to this. This has to change if we are to end homelessness; we have to make it easier to build homes, not harder.

In England, the Government have started looking at using prefabricated housing to meet demand. This has long been a UKIP policy. Prefabricated, modular housing is a quick and cheap solution to addressing housing shortages. It was the use of prefabs that helped address housing shortages following world war two. Many people were critical of post-war prefabs, but I can assure you, as someone who lived in one growing up, they were loved by all of those who called them home. 

Modern modular, prefabricated housing is much more advanced than prefabs of the past. They can be constructed from eco-friendly materials and are highly energy efficient, saving home owners money on electricity and heating costs. They are flexible, as they can be completely tailored to the needs of the home owner and some types of modular home can be reconfigured to meet future need. But above all, they are cheaper and faster than traditional construction to erect. A two-bedroomed home can be built for around £50,000 and installed in days—well below the construction costs of a traditional property, which can take up to a year to build.

There are plenty of companies offering modular prefab housing. The barrier is finding land to build upon and the length of time it takes to get planning permission. If we are to address the housing shortage in Wales, then we have to look at flat-pack homes and make it easier to reuse brownfield sites for modular housing. 

I urge Members to support the motion before you today and for the Welsh Government to begin a prefab revolution in Wales, where people cannot only own their own home, but also play a role in its design and building. We need solutions that will put an end to the necessity of placing families in temporary accommodation; put an end to children spending Christmas in a cramped B&B.

This is part of that solution and I ask you to support it. Thank you. Diolch yn fawr.