Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:32 pm on 20 February 2019.
I welcome your full-match game today, as it were, as the super-sub—[Laughter.]—and I'm sure you are able to form your own judgments and urge the boss to move on this. It's really significant, I think, that there's unity in the sector, including the organisations that represent the private landlords. And it is an area that is growing—20 per cent or so of people now are in the private rented sector, and many of those are quite vulnerable, they may be on low incomes and they may have pre-existing health conditions. And so, this is an area, I think, of public policy that does need cross-party support and, I'd say, improvement or development to meet modern trends. And I believe that most private sector landlords would jump at the chance of receiving this type of help and advice and training, because it will enable them to sustain their long-term tenancies and their income streams. So, it really is, in the landlord's and landlady's, I suppose, interest, as well as the tenant.
A further recommendation of today's report states that representatives of the private rented sector should be included in the governance structures of the Supporting People programme. Will you look at this recommendation, another innovative one, and act on it as soon as possible? And will you also commend the work undertaken by the Residential Landlords Association, and, indeed, highlighted in today's report, in their efforts to reduce inequality and discrimination in the private rented sector?