I note the Tory proposed amendments and I very much welcome this debate. Much of the contributions here today actually have been very interesting. We only have to look across the border to England and to the actions of the UK Government to see the very stark contrast in approaches to housing policy. It was revealed this week that the billionaire property tycoon John Bloor gave the Tory party £150,000—directly to the Conservative party—a mere 48 hours after a Government Minister approved a controversial housing scheme for him that was against the democratically elected town council that had rejected it near Ledbury.

In Wales, we are seeking to house the homeless, to support homeowners and aid renters, and not pander to profiteering developers. In Wales, we choose to improve existing homes, counter the battle to fight fuel poverty and create much-needed jobs, new training opportunities and supply chains, and within a carbon-neutral green policy base. Momentously, for the first time in decades, local authorities are building council houses again, and this has been achieved through the ending of the right to buy, as correctly interpreted by Jane Dodds, in Wales, to protect social rented housing for those in need, and lifting the cap on local authority borrowing. 

In the fifth Senedd, the Welsh Labour Government exceeded its target of building 20,000 high-quality, energy efficient, affordable homes. This increase in affordable housing—housing, yes, that we can afford—is a direct result of the record £2 billion investment in housing over the last five years. In this, the sixth Senedd, the Welsh Labour Government will build 20,000 low-carbon homes for social rent. Post pandemic, this is never more needed.

Deputy Llywydd, we want to see people own their own homes, if they so wish to do so, which is why buying a house has been made hugely more affordable through the Help to Buy scheme, which now exceeds its 6,000 target. However, it is social housing for rent, as Mike Hedges has stated—affordable rent—that provides the backbone of all more equal societies, and now, in Wales, thanks to strategic change, local authorities are now able to build again, and we will grow this. Mike Hedges is right again in terms of co-operative housing: we are needing to grow this area. The pandemic has further revealed the determination of the Welsh Government to end homelessness, as no-one should ever be forced to live in all weathers on the dangerous and unhealthy streets. And since lockdown, the Welsh Government has accommodated 7,000 people and made £50 million available to begin the transformation of homelessness services, including really important 'sticky' support enablement, to support the move-on to permanent homes. Put simply, the Welsh Government has a proud record on housing and it is one that I fully and wholeheartedly support. Diolch.