Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:43 pm on 15 May 2018.
Well, Dirprwy Lywydd, I thank Vikki Howells for those questions. I was hoping that she might be called to speak on this statement, because I wasn't able to be here in the Chamber during the short debate, although I've read the transcript of it since, and the Member brings forward in that short debate compelling evidence of the impact that land lying derelict, which could be put to proper use, has on the wider community. And, in answering her questions, it gives me a chance just to re-emphasise a point I tried to make towards the end of my statement, which was that this is as much about regeneration and tackling dereliction as it is about housing issues as well. Because we know that land that lies there doing nothing doesn't just stand still, it becomes a target for things like fly-tipping and other forms of dereliction and that brings untold misery to those people who live nearby. In the worst examples—and some of these were cited to me in the Republic of Ireland—you then get a downward spiral in which people start leaving the area, where buildings now stand idle as well as land, and, before you know where you are, you have a whole street, which previously was in good and productive use, where people no longer wish to live. And that's why I said, in answering earlier questions, that applying a vacant land tax can be just as important a tool in relation to preventing that sort of dereliction and promoting regeneration. Because the other side of the coin of promoting good behaviours is to prevent harmful behaviours in the way that Vikki Howells said, and her interest in this topic and the contribution that she made in the short debate will definitely make an impact on our thinking as we take this idea forward.