8. What assessment has the First Minister made of the reform of the housing revenue account subsidy scheme? OAQ52800

Well, I am pleased that, following the exit from the housing revenue account subsidy system, all affected authorities have a council house building strategy in place. They're all at different stages and we are working with them to increase the pace and scale of their plans. 

As you've mentioned, as part of the exit from this scheme in 2015, a borrowing cap of £1.85 billion was placed on councils that retained housing stock. Given that Theresa May has announced that English councils will no longer have a cap on their ability to borrow to build new homes, will the Welsh Government look into renegotiating the current deal with the Treasury? After all, it makes more sense to borrow to build homes when there is no right to buy, as is the case in Wales, than in England, where homes can be built and then sold for less than the market value. In Wales, that investment will continue to be returned over the long term.

That's correct. At the moment the borrowing cap is £1,927 million. I saw the Prime Minister's announcement. Officials have been in touch with representatives in the UK Government to see how that will work, and I think it's fair to say that no-one seems to know at the moment. The announcement was made. There doesn't seem to be any detail. But I can assure the Member that what applies in England in terms of flexibility, we would expect to apply in Wales.

Thank you, First Minister.