House Building

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:08 pm on 18 January 2022.

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Photo of James Evans James Evans Conservative 2:08, 18 January 2022

Diolch. Thank you, First Minister. Your Government's plan to build 20,000 affordable homes is an ambitious target. However, the building of homes in my constituency is at a standstill due to pollution targets. I'm not disputing the need to address pollution in our rivers, but the answer simply cannot be to stop all house building. At least 10,000 homes, of which 1,700 are affordable and social, are all stuck in limbo and cannot be progressed due to Natural Resources Wales guidance on phosphorous. It's starting to have an impact on jobs and the housing market, because people working in the construction industry have no long-term job security, and local young people are being forced out of the housing market by skyrocketing rents and the lack of social homes. First Minister, this is an extremely urgent matter, but the current oversight group looking at phosphates I believe is meeting far too infrequently and I'm led to believe they're struggling with the scale of the issue. First Minister, will you look to set up a cross-party politically led task and finish group, supported by the Welsh Government, so that some urgency can be injected into this matter, to find a solution to the problem and to meet your Government's housing targets? Diolch, Llywydd.