7. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's policy on council housing? OAQ53589

Our policy is to support local authorities to build council housing at significantly increased scale and within the shortest achievable timescale.

Can I again stress the importance of building council houses to deal with the housing crisis facing Wales? Will the First Minister join me in sending congratulations to Swansea on their new council homes new being occupied and also those under construction? But what more can the Welsh Government do to overcome the constraints on councils building council dwellings in large numbers, which is what you said in your first answer?

Thank you very much for that. I'd certainly agree on congratulating Swansea on the work that they are doing, particularly the innovative housing methods and doing all of this at the same time, I know, as having to concentrate on reaching the Welsh quality housing standards, which the council is very close now to completing. I think that there are three different things that we can do to speed up and increase the number of houses being built by local authorities in Wales. The Member, I know, will be pleased to know that the borrowing cap will be formally lifted on Welsh local authorities on Friday of this week, when the necessary legislation that we have to complete will be brought to fruition. So, funding will be, for some local authorities, certainly, more plentifully available than would otherwise be the case. Secondly, there is the whole business of skills, knowledge and capacity. We will have to do more, and the sector will have to do more, working with housing associations and others, to make sure that local authorities have the ability, beyond money, to take on this additionally important role that we want to see them discharge. Thirdly, we will need to look to see what we can do at the Welsh Government level. My colleague Rebecca Evans instituted a review of our affordable housing strategy. That will report at the end of April. Two of the 10 work streams in that review are specifically involved in looking at ways in which we can get local authorities in Wales building more council housing and building them more quickly.

Thank you very much, First Minister.