Diolch, Llywydd. I declare an interest in being a Cardiff councillor.

1. How does the Welsh Government use the planning system to address the issue of empty dwellings in Cardiff? OAQ53075

Thank you. Local planning authorities need to have a clear understanding of the factors influencing housing requirements in their area, including empty dwellings. Local housing market assessments are a key piece of the evidence base for local development plans, which cover the whole housing market, including dwelling vacancy rates.

Diolch. Today is a historic day, so I'd like to start by honouring Prince Llywelyn, the last native prince of a sovereign Wales, who was killed on this day in 1282 at Cilmeri.

Cabinet Secretary, I recently visited a house in Ely that was starting to look like a jungle. The garden was so overgrown that you could barely see that there was a house there. In the garden, rubbish was being dumped, the windows were smashed in and plants were growing into the house, and it's one of 1,300 empty properties in Cardiff that a family should be living in.

Cardiff has the worst record in Wales in bringing empty houses back into use—less than 1 per cent in 2016-17. You're letting them get away with that, but at the same time letting the Labour council build thousands of new houses on greenfields that local people simply cannot afford. So, why aren't you demanding that Cardiff Council use their powers and get these empty properties back into use, because nothing shows the neglect of our communities more than houses being left to rot for years and years? 

I know that Cardiff Council do have an aspiration to reduce the number of vacant dwellings, and that approach was considered as part of the independent local development plan examination. I will say that empty dwellings are, absolutely, a wasted resource. They can often be the target of vandals, which obviously affects the quality of life of neighbours and local communities. As a Government, we've put forward funding—I think it totals now about £40 million—on a continuous recycling period. I think that's over 15 years, and that's been provided to local authorities to operate schemes.

Cabinet Secretary, I do think this is an important area of public policy. Depending on how you count empty homes—whether they're empty after six months or a shorter period—there's somewhere between 23,000 and 43,000 empty properties in Wales. In my area, Rhondda Cynon Taf has nearly 500 properties that have been empty for five years—that's the worst of any authority apart from Swansea. It's quite remarkable that around Wales there are well over 1,100 properties that have been empty for 10 years. So, it is very important, as we need to emphasise the need to build more homes, that we do use the homes that are out there as efficiently as possible. 

I can't disagree with anything that David Melding said. I think the level of empty dwellings within a local planning authority area should be a consideration when they are considering the level of homes in a new development. I mentioned in my original answer to Neil McEvoy the funding that Welsh Government has put forward. We've had the Houses into Homes scheme, we've had the home improvement loans scheme, and that does provide local authorities with the flexibility to be able to respond to the demands of their particular area.      

Question 2—John Griffiths. John Griffiths isn't here to ask question 2.

Question 2 [OAQ53086] not asked.