Large numbers of second homes and holiday lets have provoked strong feelings in some communities across Wales for some years now. In these communities, there is often a sense of injustice that people are priced out of the local housing market by those purchasing second homes or short-term holiday accommodation. We are determined to tackle this issue.

We are aware of the challenges being faced, and we've already made clear strides towards addressing them. On 6 July, my colleague the Minister for Climate Change set out our ambition to address issues relating to second home ownership, and her announcement today sets out how the issues of tax, planning and affordability will be tackled.

Alongside this, for those communities in which Welsh is widely spoken in the community, our Welsh language communities housing plan will play a crucial part in our response. We will develop a package of interventions that intertwines with the national approaches in order to support and protect Welsh-speaking communities.

'Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers' acknowledges the importance of these communities as places that facilitate the use of the language in every aspect of life. We need, therefore, careful economic, community and linguistic planning to enable Welsh-speaking communities to be economically and linguistically viable. People, especially our young people, must be able to afford to live, work and make a valuable contribution within these Welsh-speaking communities.

This consultation explores how the collective package of interventions, including those being trialled in Dwyfor, could be complemented at a community level to support and protect the Welsh language, while avoiding unintended consequences. It seeks views on what additional initiatives are needed to ensure that people, especially young people, can afford to live and work in our Welsh-speaking communities. Social justice is at the heart of our proposed interventions. Some of the interventions proposed in this consultation may also benefit from being included in the Dwyfor trial.

The consultation document proposes a number of measures and seeks views on them. Those measures are as follows. First, we propose to provide support for community-led co-operative and social enterprises. Second, we propose to establish a pilot project on community-owned social businesses in the tourism sector. Third, we propose to establish an estate agent steering group to consider possible projects and research regarding local housing markets.

Fourth, we propose to explore a voluntary fair chance scheme, so that properties are available on the market for a limited time to local people only. Fifth, we propose to establish a network of cultural ambassadors to engage at community level to support social cohesion and gain a better understanding by all of our culture, Welsh language and heritage.

Sixth, we propose to establish a commission on Welsh language communities to better understand the challenges facing Welsh-speaking communities within the context of the linguistic, economic and social changes as a result of COVID-19 and Brexit. It will work to develop a model that will help to identify areas of particular linguistic sensitivity, where tailored policy interventions can be applied.

Seventh, we propose to work with local authority leaders to strengthen the link between the economy, housing and Welsh language by enhancing the work of the economy and Welsh language round-table to include housing and a role for overseeing the progress of the Welsh language communities housing plan. And finally, we propose to explore new ways of safeguarding and promoting Welsh language place names.

Now, there are opportunities for communities here to lead some of these interventions, and we certainly want to provide them with the necessary tools to empower, encourage and facilitate community participation. Co-operatives and social enterprises are already an important part of the social and economic landscape in Wales. We want to explore ways of encouraging communities to lead in small-scale housing development, as well as establish social businesses that ensure that communities that risk losing valuable services are able to safeguard and take control of their future.

There are no easy answers. But I'm confident that the interventions proposed today will help us to ensure that people in Welsh-speaking communities can afford to live in the communities in which they grew up.

This is a complex area, and there will be a range of views on how the Welsh Government should respond. Therefore, we encourage everyone in the communities affected, the length and breadth of Wales, to respond to this consultation, whether they run businesses in these areas, live in these areas, own property, or deliver public services—to respond to this consultation and help shape our Welsh-language communities housing plan.

And as the Minister for Climate Change has just said, this is an area covered by the co-operation agreement that the First Minister announced yesterday, so I look forward to having further discussions with the designated Plaid Cymru Member as we work together to respond to this very important issue.

We will continue to develop and explore all options available to ensure that our Welsh-speaking communities thrive.