During our inquiry, we heard about initiatives that have had some success in bringing properties back into use, but progress has stagnated. We believe that a strategic approach is needed for significant change to happen. We would like to see the Welsh Government take the lead on this, engaging with local authorities to prioritise the issue and understand the support it can provide.

I'm pleased that recommendation 1 has been accepted. This is a key recommendation relating to the Welsh Government working with local authorities to develop a national action plan for tackling these empty properties, which should include setting priorities and targets. We recommended that the action plan be published by October next year. This will be an important step forward in setting national priorities and giving local authorities the strategic direction they need to prioritise tackling this issue.

Of course, having the right level of resource in place is absolutely key if local authorities are to be fully equipped to tackle these matters. Having a dedicated empty property officer in post can make a significant difference; it can bring more focus to the authority's work and co-ordinate the various activities being undertaken across departments. Of course, we all know resources are tight, but the long-term impact that empty properties can have, both economically and socially, justifies identifying this as a priority area. We heard expert advice that a dedicated officer should pay for themselves multiple times over, so it does represent good value for money.

I'm pleased that the Welsh Government has committed to ensuring that local authorities have a support package that's necessary for their needs and to provide an update on the resources needed by September of next year.

We were concerned by evidence we heard around the usefulness of data used in measuring progress in dealing with empty properties. In particular, that the data only includes properties on the council tax list, meaning it excludes derelict buildings and non-residential properties—the source, of course, of many empty property-related complaints.

We also heard that properties empty for over 12 months were more problematic and more likely to have a negative impact on neighbours and communities. Those empty for shorter periods often came back into use without any intervention from the local authority. We therefore recommended that, going forward, a 12-month time frame is used to define empty properties rather than the current six months, and that relevant performance indicators are updated to reflect this.

I'm pleased that our recommendations 5 and 6 around data have been accepted. These changes should ensure that the data collected is more useful and accurately reflects local authorities' work to tackle this problem. Local authorities already have a range of enforcement options available to them, but we heard that using those powers isn't straightforward. Some of the powers are rarely used, often due to their complexity, which has led to a situation where officers haven't developed sufficient expertise to be confident in exercising them. We recommended that a regional or national source of expertise be developed, which would be available for empty property teams to access when it is required. This has been accepted, as has our recommendation that training for local authority officers and members on the enforcement options be rolled out. I look forward to the update we've requested from the Deputy Minister on progress in delivering these sessions by Easter of next year.

We heard some examples of good work being done by social landlords, particularly the United Welsh housing association, which has taken a proactive approach to bringing empty homes back into use. We would like to see Welsh Government working with the housing association sector to understand the schemes it has in place, how good practice can be shared and effective schemes rolled out across Wales. I welcome the Deputy Minister’s commitment to collaborate with the sector to achieve this.

Another option available to local authorities is to implement a council tax premium of up to 100 per cent on long-term empty properties. This is discretionary and some authorities have opted to introduce a premium.

When the policy was introduced in 2014, the explanatory memorandum accompanying the Housing (Wales) Bill noted the Welsh Government’s hope that local authorities would use the additional powers available to them and the revenue collected to help meet local housing needs. We heard that Gwynedd Council has decided to allocate its additional revenue for housing purposes, but we're concerned that there is little evidence elsewhere of funds being directed in such a way.

We are therefore disappointed that our recommendation that the Welsh Government explores whether it would be possible to ring-fence the revenue has been rejected, particularly as the Deputy Minister expressed a desire to research such options in her evidence paper to us. Whist we realise that revenue collected through council tax is unhypothecated, it seems that not using the money for housing purposes goes against the aims of the original legislation. So, I would ask the Deputy Minister to give further consideration to how the Welsh Government can work with local authorities to ensure that this resource is used to alleviate housing problems.

We also heard anecdotal evidence of people trying to avoid the premium by applying to change the category of their empty property, either by claiming that it is being used as self-catering accommodation or that a family member has moved in. We would like more information gathered on this in order to get a better sense of the extent of such practices. I note that local authorities have been invited to bring forward examples they have, and I look forward to an update on this work in due course.

There has been a lack of progress in bringing the number of empty properties back into use over recent years, but I believe our work will contribute to making this important issue a priority area. We welcome the establishment of a dedicated team within Welsh Government and the Deputy Minister’s acceptance of almost all of our recommendations. I hope these actions will bring renewed focus and result in real change. We will continue to monitor this issue as a committee, including the effectiveness of the approach, and we very much look forward to the updates the Deputy Minister has committed to providing so that we may further assess the effectiveness of new policies, new teams and new thinking.