Thank you, and I'm very grateful indeed to Members for bringing forward this cross-party debate today. As Mick Antoniw set out at the very start of the debate, leaseholders have a long history, but I think our debate today has really highlighted how, in recent years, an unscrupulous minority of developers and freeholders have sought to profit from questionable practices.

I think that the issues that have been discussed fall into three broad themes: the inappropriate sale of new homes as leasehold; the plight of people who have been sold homes on leasehold and are victims of poor practice; and the underlying question as to whether or not leasehold is actually still fit for purpose in the modern housing market.

This particular motion focuses on the first of these themes. Not all leasehold transactions are inappropriate, of course. Leasehold is a valid tenure for flats and apartments, for example, when it's operated fairly. It can ensure that communal areas and maintenance are dealt with on behalf of all the residents. And in the absence of a current suitable alternative, leasehold does have its place in our housing market, particularly given the increasing number of new homes that are flats and apartments. This is why point three of the motion is difficult for us, although I do obviously agree with the spirit of the motion.

Contributions today have again highlighted that there are those out there who will neither use leasehold appropriately or operate it fairly, and the concerns, really, are many, complex and varied, and we've heard so many examples of them today. All too often, I think that they do relate to leaseholders feeling that they've been misled or that they face excessive or escalating charges, and we also hear of difficulties when seeking to buy those freeholds, extend leases, and we hear of leaseholders feeling that they are receiving poor value for money or a poor service. So, I want to put on record today my commitment to exploring what can be done to address these issues, recognising the complexity and the technical nature of the issues.

But, turning to today's motion, we are all aware of the recent high-profile cases of new-build houses being offered on a leasehold rather than a freehold basis without any clear justification. The data shows that the proportion of new houses sold as leasehold has increased in recent years and I want to put an end to the inappropriate use of leasehold for new-build houses in Wales. There are a small number of sound reasons for houses to be sold on a leasehold basis, and these include the sale of new-build developments on land owned by certain bodies that have a long-term interest in land, such as university bodies or the National Trust, and that, specifically, is what we're talking about when we're talking about the phrase 'absolutely necessary'.

But, beyond this, I see little reason for houses not to be offered for sale on a freehold basis. I do recognise the need to act with urgency, and since coming into post I've identified a number of key improvements, which are to be taken forward immediately. I've already opened up discussions with developers in Wales through our house builders engagement programme and I've made it clear that it is my desire to limit the number of new properties that are sold as leasehold and that my preference is for leasehold to be limited to premises such as flats where the structure of the building and the need to ensure there is maintenance of common areas does necessitate it. I want all house builders operating in Wales to publicly pledge not to sell new-build houses as leasehold in Wales, except in those exceptional circumstances that have been mentioned, and Jane Hutt kindly named some of those developers who have already made that commitment. I'll be using the tools currently at my disposal—