Homelessness

Part of 4. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:36 pm on 24 June 2020.

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Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 2:36, 24 June 2020

Yes, Caroline, I'm very happy to join with you in commending Swansea Council. As I said, councils right across Wales have worked very hard, but in particular the councils that are pinch points for homelessness, so Swansea, Cardiff, Newport and Wrexham have been particularly hard hit. That's not to say that other councils haven't had a lot of input and their own problems and so on, but they've been particularly hard hit as the cities. And Swansea have done a remarkable job in housing a large number of people with complex needs. I take my hat off to the staff on the ground who are doing that work, because it's hard and difficult to do and they've done a cracking job. 

And you're absolutely right that part of the response to this, and to make sure that people don't go back to the streets, is the building of sufficient social housing to make sure that people can get the housing they need. We're very, therefore, pleased to say that we have a large number of what are called 'modern methods of construction' factories right across Wales. Members of the Senedd will be getting, in their inboxes, a small video from my department, alongside something called 'killer facts', which tell you all about modern methods of construction and what their benefits are as opposed to traditional methods of construction. And one of the real benefits of them is how fast they go up. So, houses are built in a factory on a level, in the warm; they're able to employ large numbers of people and they can socially distance—they've been working throughout the crisis. We were able to expand those factories pretty rapidly. They're geographically located all around Wales. So, we're able to employ local people to do it, we have Welsh supply chains, in the main, for them, and we're working on making sure that the supply chains across the piece are Welsh, and we can rapidly put them up on garage sites, at the back of developments, and on small outlying plots across Wales, where there are services already, and the build time is somewhere around 16 to 18 weeks, so it's quite phenomenal.

So, that will very much be part of what we're doing, as well as accelerating the 'normal'—if I can put that in inverted commas—building of social houses, which we have in train, and then looking to use any money that I can get my hands on to accelerate the capital developments there, including a range of things that I want Members to be aware of, because I want them to be able to push them in their own constituencies. So, we're looking to take private sector homes into the social sector, offering people at least five years of the local housing allowance rent, to maintain the home throughout at a standard and pass it back to the landlord in good condition at the end. So, there are no worries about voids or management or anything else. It's a very good deal—five years or longer so that we can give people secure accommodation in those buildings, bringing empty, private sector accommodation back in and using it for social housing, and working with a group of investors to do that, because, as you know, many people are not getting much of a return on their money sitting in a bank account, but this is a good way of getting a return on your money, if that's what you're looking for. I very much acknowledge that we have a large number of good landlords across Wales who only own one or two houses, who might be very pleased to work with us in this social way to assist people, but also to get a regular income for themselves without the worry, because I know that's what they want.

So, we're willing to look pretty much at any scheme that comes forward. So, if Members are aware of anything in their own area, I'd be only too delighted to hear from you.