Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:04 pm on 9 July 2019.
Well, it's interesting language, that's for sure. I understand the sentiment he expresses, and, as I said in response to Leanne Wood, we certainly will want to look very carefully at what we are putting public money into and what we're building with it. So, I appreciate the sentiment and I agree with the sentiment; I'm not sure I quite agree with the language. But, yes, we'll be looking very—.
I want to be sure that we help first-time buyers who would otherwise be a long way away from getting a foot on the housing ladder, that we're not talking only about owner-occupiers but some kind of mixed equity schemes and so on to allow people to move in. I'm very keen on exploring what we can do to help people who won't be able to get a deposit or very much of a deposit together, for example, so that you're helping people further away from the market. I'm very keen on ensuring that we have better standards, that we build to the same standard as social housing. Isn't it ironic that we have a situation now where social housing is of a considerably better standard than private sector housing? Who would have thought that I would be able to stand here and say that, but it is in fact the truth? People would much rather live in a social house than in one of the private houses that he mentions. So, I agree with the sentiment entirely. We will be looking very—. If we are able to continue the Help to Buy scheme, which is completely in the balance—I have no idea if there will be a consequential from the UK Government, but if we are able to then we will certainly be designing out many of the examples that he brought forward.