Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:51 pm on 3 June 2020.
Can I start by placing on record the Welsh Conservative Party's appreciation of the progress that's been made in ending, to all intents and purposes, rough-sleeping? We're pleased that this has been very successful in Wales, with 800 people now moved into temporary accommodation. Many of them would have been on the streets. And I note also that similar progress has been made in England. I make this remark just to remind everyone that even in a deep crisis, new ways of thinking, and new priorities, and new forms of compassion come to the surface. And this is certainly one, and I'm pleased that we can say in Wales that we have genuine achievements to build upon.
My first question is that I just want to look at the issue of arrears and evictions, because, unfortunately, once evictions are made permissible in law again, which may happen this month or it may happen in the autumn depending on the decision taken by the Master of the Rolls, of course, this could cause a considerable increase in homelessness and even people going back to the streets. A Tenant Participation Advisory Service survey published last week, Minister, found that two thirds of private renters knew where to go to get help if they had problems with arrears, while only a quarter of social tenants knew where to go for that sort of support and information. So, I would ask you to look at this, because it is a bit curious that the deficiency is so heavy in terms of social tenants, and you would have expected them to be more aware of the sources of help.
And, also, can I refer to the recent calls by Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru in terms of evictions—I think you may have had sight of this—that we need in Wales a national plan to tackle evictions? Not all the levers can be controlled by us because of the changes in law, but we're going to have to deal with this. And they're calling for a repayment plan for arrears, spread over two years, so we have a plan that can help people in that situation. And then, if landlords sign up to that sort of scheme of spreading payments for two years, there would be no evictions. It does seem to me as quite a constructive way forward, but I think we would like to know what is your current evaluation of where we will be in terms of evictions, and whether we are likely to see some extension of the current moratorium for instance.