Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. It seems to be that today is the day for debates on housing. I'm sorry that I wasn't around actually to participate in much of the Conservatives' debate earlier on, because there's much in what was tabled in that debate that I do support, and I think that we are in a process of reaching some kind of consensus around some of the issues that we need to address in housing. So, my topic for this short debate is the power of co-operative housing solutions in helping to meet housing needs in communities across Wales, and I'd like to give a minute of my time to Mike Hedges. 

So, I'll start my debate with a short contextual analysis about housing need, and I'm then going to look at examples of co-operative housing solutions in both my constituency and further afield, and finally I will explain why I believe that co-operation is a powerful tool in helping to solve not just housing problems but also in helping to build more cohesive communities.

I always believe that housing remains a deeply political choice, a choice about priorities and a reflection of political values, but I will also acknowledge the common ground that we find in this place, as I think was noted in the earlier debate—common ground that I believe is based upon the scale and the range of housing problems that present themselves to us in our casework and in expert evidence that we receive in Assembly committees. Indeed, only last week, the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee heard compelling evidence around the problems of rough-sleeping and the challenges of those people experiencing it and organisations trying to help grapple with it.

So, first, a bit of context on housing needs. I know from my own experience in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, where I see a significant need for homes to house young and single people, there is a need for more homes of a size that can help people to avoid personal debt, because of having to pay bedroom tax, and a need for private rented homes to be available at rent levels that people can afford, as well as the need to build more new private housing for those people who can use the market to buy a home, either with or without Welsh Government help, such as Help to Buy. And all of that before we even get to the issue of homelessness and how we get a roof over people's heads in the first instance—that being the most basic of human needs.

So, the case for radical housing solutions can be evidenced by a few facts—and the Minister alluded to this in her response to the earlier debate—a local housing allowance of less than £280 per month for one-bed units, while private sector rents range from some £370 to £500 per month for that size of unit; low wage levels and zero-hours contracts leading to the problem of in-work poverty, which points to the sharp challenge of affordability in many of our communities; and new house building that does not replace our older housing stock at a fast enough rate. Therefore, schemes like Help to Buy, in truth, whilst welcome, are of less benefit in my constituency than they are in some other areas.

Let me be clear: I welcome the Welsh Government's response to many of these housing challenges. Steps have been taken, even in the face of a decade of austerity, for example ending the right to buy in order to protect our valuable public housing for those in need; the funding of more affordable homes; the return of a council house building programme; greater protection for tenants and stronger regulation of landlords; stepping up action against homelessness; and the welcome embrace of a whole-system approach to these problems. There is of course more to do, and it all makes for a strong record of delivery by our Government here in Wales.