2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the role that sheltered housing can play in the future provision of high-quality housing for older people? OAQ53061

Yes. Sheltered housing is a well-established housing model for older people in Wales. It's important that all accommodation continues to meet people's needs, demands and aspirations, and, to support this, we are making record investment in housing of £1.7 billion, including providing affordable homes specifically for older people.

Thank you, leader of the house. Bron Afon community housing are currently consulting on the closure of three sheltered housing complexes in my constituency—Glanwern House, Pen-y-Bryn, and the Beeches. As you can appreciate, this is causing a huge amount of anxiety for the residents in those complexes and is a particular worry in the run-up to Christmas. Would you agree with me that, although housing associations have a duty to plan for future housing need, their paramount duty is to their current tenants? And what steps will you take to ensure that the needs of the older people affected by this consultation will be properly protected?

I understand the Member's concern. We do absolutely agree that tenant well-being and security is of paramount importance. I understand that that's your primary concern, as you've just said, and that was the reason for your meeting with Rebecca Evans, the Minister for Housing and Regeneration, about this issue last week. We are being assured by officials that the 73 potentially affected tenants are being kept at the heart of Bron Afon's process in consulting on the matter. I also am told that no final decision has yet been made by Bron Afon's board, but, if the preferred option of closure and redevelopment of the three sheltered schemes was to be opted for, for example, then a full tenant consultation would then continue to take place. I think the Member's absolutely right—we have to make sure that tenants are at the front and centre of any such consultation and that their needs continue to be robustly met throughout that process. We're advised that tenants will be rehoused within the local area, wherever possible, identifying suitable alternative accommodation, and so on, should that option go ahead, but I understand that no final decision has yet been made.

Cabinet Secretary, can I commend the Welsh Government for commissioning the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University to look at housing needs of older people and other general care needs? They found that 18 local authorities in Wales expect an increase in the general housing needs of older people; 16 local authorities expected an increase in demand for extra-care housing for older people; 14 local authorities expected an increase in demand for age-designated housing; and then eight local authorities expect an increase in demand for sheltered housing for older people. What we need is really good, deep data and a coherent housing strategy for older people. So, I commend you for doing the research; now we need to really see some sort of action plan for the future.

I don't disagree with the Member. Sheltered housing, as he says, is a well-established approach to older people's housing, but it is one of a suite of interventions and accommodations that are possible. One of the purposes of doing the research is to do just that. And, actually, more generally in the Government, we are looking across the piece at what our data sets are able to tell us in terms of using them for better service planning, and that is very much a part of the approach going forward.

Leader of the house, good-quality sheltered housing can play a vital role in ensuring older people remain independent and can help tackle loneliness and isolation. Providing good-quality sheltered housing can also help ensure that family homes become available as older people downsize. Recent studies have also found that utilising sensors in sheltered accommodation can help predict and avoid falls, reducing reliance on our NHS. So, leader of the house, what steps are your Government taking to ensure that we have sufficient sheltered housing to meet future demand and that such accommodation utilises the latest health technologies?

The Member makes a series of good points there. Since 2002, with the support of £187 million, 43 extra-care schemes have been completed, providing over 2,000 homes for older people, where they can maintain their independence and avoid the need to move to residential care or admission to hospital. We're also investing £105 million capital in the integrated care fund to develop accommodation-led solutions to health and social care. That will support older people to remain living independently in their communities, and, every year, we invest £106 million to support local authorities and housing associations to improve the quality of the social housing stock in Wales through the Welsh quality housing standard.

In particular, though, the Member mentions technological advances that are of interest. We have a number of schemes around Wales, which I've had the privilege to go and see, using something called LoRaWAN technology, which allows you—obviously, with the tenant's permission—to collect data around things like whether the lights have been turned on or whether a kettle has been boiled and so on, and allows you to be alerted to the fact that the person's pattern of movement has changed and, therefore, somebody can call much more speedily than if you were just doing that as a routine check. So, I'm very impressed so far with some of the schemes that we've looked at, and we've been supporting them from our digital budgets, actually, in taking forward such innovative schemes. We're looking forward to being able to mainstream some of that technology in the very foreseeable future.