My understanding is that the Welsh Government has set an index of 2.4 per cent rise at the September 2018 consumer price index assessment of what is reasonable, and that means that tenants’ weekly rent, if they're assured tenants, is only 2.4 per cent. Now, my understanding is that this only applies to assured rents and it will come into effect on 1 April this year. I’ve had several tenants correspond with me, concerned about the level of rent increases they’re experiencing. One assured tenant, who obviously won’t experience more than a 2.4 per cent increase, is also being loaded with service charges for additional things like decoration, gardening, roof repairs, this sort of thing, and she reports that, over the last few years, since the service charge and the rent have been split, there have been significant increases twice a year. So, that’s produced a very significant outlay for that individual.

For another individual, who is a secure tenant, a fair rent is set by a rent officer. The last review was in October, and it was set at an 8 per cent increase over the next two years. Now, that’s well above the 2.4 per cent. And the concern I have is that social landlords are finding loopholes to not adhere to the Welsh Government’s guidelines of 2.4 per cent and that this is in a context of an absolute shortage of affordable housing, and that people on low wages are concerned that they’re simply not going to be able to stay in their social rented housing unless they go on to housing benefit, producing a perverse incentive to become unemployed. And, obviously, we’d all agree—