Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:59 pm on 17 March 2021.
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am pleased to open this debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee. This petition was submitted by Osian Jones on behalf of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, having collected 5,386 signatures. It raises an issue of significant concern in many communities across Wales: the availability of housing at prices affordable to local people, particularly for young people who are seeking to find a property in the same community in which they have grown up. The petitioners state that the context behind this petition as being the numbers of second and holiday homes in many rural and tourist areas of Wales, which has the effect of both reducing the available housing stock and increasing house prices.