You will be aware that we're seeking to introduce a new distinctly Welsh approach to promoting and safeguarding equality, social justice and human rights. We do so, of course, within the scope of our legal competence. The actions we take must be compatible with international obligations, as set out in section 82 of the Government of Wales Act 2006. These obligations include the seven UN conventions signed and ratified by the UK state party. Section 81 of the Government of Wales Act also requires the Welsh Government to act compatibly with the European convention on human rights, as reflected in our domestic law by the Human Rights Act 1998. We're fully engaged in the UN reporting process and welcome and value scrutiny, feedback and guidance from the UN committees. In its 1966 covenant, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognised that, to afford citizens an adequate standard of living, they needed to have access to adequate housing as well as adequate food, clothing and continuous improvement of living conditions. And those state parties, including the United Kingdom, which ratified and adopted the covenant, agreed with this sentiment when they signed up to it.

Whilst it may seem strange that the United Kingdom's Government has, as yet, to incorporate the covenant into domestic law, that shouldn't prevent us from working in the spirit of the covenant here in Wales. Allowing the continuance of insecurity and indignity being suffered by those without access to housing or to housing that's adequate for their needs should be, as a civilised society, and must be a concern to us all. This Government's commitment to the fundamental principle that every one of us has a right to access adequate and sustainable housing is central to the aspirations we are seeking to achieve, and it is good to see the cross-party consensus that is expressed here again, but often expressed in this Chamber, as we debate this important issue.

So, in the Welsh Government's national strategy 'Prosperity for All', we've recognised housing as a key priority, stating categorically that we understand the role of a good-quality affordable home in bringing a wide range of benefits to well-being, health, learning and prosperity. The Government is committed to delivering new social housing and to do so at scale and pace. We understand the key role that social housing can play in ensuring that families and individuals can access good-quality affordable homes that can be their springboard to secure successful futures. Social housing requires a greater level of Government subsidy, but this must be a priority for us, supporting those where our investment can have the greatest impact. We've made a record investment of £1.7 billion in housing during this Assembly term. This is a significant sum, which is having a huge impact on the delivery of social housing.

I'm very grateful also for Mike Hedges's contribution this afternoon to this in terms of tackling housing need and the importance of social housing. Of course, social housing provides not only quality homes but also the support needed to ensure that people can sustain their tenancies and thrive, and that's why Wales has never moved away from support for social housing since it came into being. In fact, in England, delivery of homes for social rent has dropped 81 per cent since 2010.

Further to this, we have our innovative housing programme and integrated care fund. Again, a lot of cross-party consensus; particularly David Melding welcoming that. They, of course, have supported the construction of at least 1,300 homes, helping to deliver on these ambitions. There are ongoing challenges in delivering the number of homes required for both the market and affordable housing sectors, but we are taking steps here in Wales to deliver the homes we need, and we remain confident that, with the help of our partners, we will reach our 20,000 affordable homes target during this Assembly term.

But it's not just the number of homes we build but how we ensure they are of high quality, and here our investment in the Welsh housing quality standard ensures that many of our most vulnerable people live in decent homes, and those homes also need to meet the needs of future generations and be near zero carbon, helping the environment and lifting households out of fuel poverty. And that's why we have set out significant ambitions to drive forward decarbonisation across all tenures of existing housing stock. The Welsh Government has also recognised the importance of ensuring Wales's housing law is fit for the future through the coherent and comprehensive updating of housing law. The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 commencement introduced groundbreaking improvements for prevention of homelessness, providing for the registration and licensing of private rented sector landlords and agents via Rent Smart Wales. In addition, implementation of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, simplifying and clarifying contractual arrangements, and the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019, will reduce the cost to tenants when renting a home privately, particularly at the outset.

Dawn's point that access to adequate housing should be recognised as a human right goes beyond just our national boundary, and as such raises issues under the devolution settlement. I'm pleased to be responding to this with my ministerial responsibility for strengthening equality and human rights, and to work with you to take this forward. We're acting to make Wales fairer, beginning with commencing the socioeconomic duty to recognise the impact of poverty in relation to other aspects of equality. In line with this, we're taking forward work to explore options to safeguard equality and human rights in Wales, but we're also commissioning research to explore wider options, and we can take this on board in terms of that research. We will be including how we incorporate the convention on the rights of disabled people and other international agreements into Welsh law, and we have engaged with Professor Hoffman in this respect.

We will take an inclusive approach with regard to protected characteristics, drawing on all available evidence, and this very issue has been highlighted in the work commissioned by Tai Pawb, in collaboration with Shelter Cymru and the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru, from Professor Simon Hoffman, associate professor at Swansea University. His feasibility report for the introduction of a right to adequate housing, launched last Tuesday, makes for good reading, powerful reading, and I've no doubt that Julie James will be considering the feasibility study in detail, how it fits in with the work we're already undertaking, and I would hope to reassure Dawn and other Members of the Assembly today that, while waiting for the United Kingdom Government to incorporate formally the United Nations covenant on economic, social and cultural rights into domestic law, we recognise housing as foundational to ensuring the well-being of our citizens. We're also working hard within our devolved responsibilities to reflect these rights in the policies and legislation we've created and will continue to create. Diolch.