2. Will the First Minister make a statement on Welsh Government support for small and medium-sized house builders? OAQ52054

There are many products to support the sector. For example, through the development bank, the Wales property development fund provides SME home builders with affordable housing opportunities, and our house builders engagement programme also works with small companies to develop targeted support.

My concern is that the house building industry is dominated by a very small number of very large firms, which effectively creates a cartel, keeps prices artificially high, and prevents the mass building of affordable homes that are needed, because it's not in the interest to meet demand in the long term because that will cause prices to fall. The answer, I think, is an expanded housing market, in which small, locally based businesses who are sensitive to the needs of their communities are able to thrive and grow, and I intend to hold a cross-party group later this year to explore how we can do more of that. But I'd like to know what more the Welsh Government can do to develop that ambition and to grow that small business house building base. 

Well, can I point to two things in particular? I mentioned there the house building engagement programme. Now, we are working with private developers, including SMEs, to understand and, of course, to tackle the barriers that they face to building more housing. That relationship is reflected in the recent announcement to quadruple the Wales property development fund to £40 million. That will be recycled over the 15-year life of the current scheme to an estimated investment of £270 million. But we also specifically want to support local builders to build the homes people need through a new partnership between Valleys councils and the Development Bank of Wales that will build on the fund. Just to give one example, there is an initiative in Rhondda Cynon Taf to make small parcels of public land available and therefore, of course, more attractive and accessible to SME developers. 

First Minister, according to the Home Builders Federation, the Welsh Government could support small and medium-sized house builders by forcing local authorities to speed up progress on delivering their development plans and five-year land supplies. The joint housing land availability study revealed that only six local authorities had a five-year supply of readily developable housing land in spite of this being a key planning policy requirement by the Welsh Government. First Minister, what action will you take to ensure that local planning authorities meet your Government's requirement and increase the availability of deliverable housing sites in Wales please?

It is a matter for local planning authorities to have in place a development plan and to meet the requirements in terms of housing supply. The problem is, of course, if there's no development plan in place, then there is no guidance in effect. The problem then is that it becomes something resembling a free-for-all. That's in nobody's interest. Two things, however, are important. First of all, it is absolutely crucial that local authorities work together. Artificial political boundaries are just not recognised by the housing market. If we look, for example, at the south-east of Wales, we can't parcel up planning purely on the basis of local planning authority boundaries. So, working together will be hugely important. But also, of course, coming back to the point I made before, it's one thing to have a supply of land for the future, while it's another thing to ensure that that land is available in parcels that are attractive enough for SMEs to be able to compete.

Just on this same theme, I would like to know whether it would be possible to favour eco-homes companies. I think it is something that needs to be looked at in terms of the sustainability of the market and in seeking to make our housing more sustainable. Could you look into this as a Government in order to ensure that such plans would be given a priority?

Interesting. Usually, of course, in the past, this has been dealt with under the building regulations in relation to the standards that are adopted as regards the construction of these houses. The planning system deals with the land use and not with the construction standards of houses built on that land. But, having said that, it is an idea that’s well worth considering, and if I can write to the Member with further details, I will do so.