8. What steps is the Government taking to support the social housing sector in light of the increase in building costs? OQ57948

Thank you very much for that question. Llywydd, Welsh Government is working closely with social landlords to support the sector. In the last financial year, we paid £11 million in additional grants and £25 million in interest-free loans to social landlords to help mitigate increases in materials costs. We continue to monitor supply chain pressures in the building sector.

I thank the First Minister for that response. The Government, of course, has a target for constructing social housing, and they are very much needed to tackle the waiting lists for housing. There are proposed housing developments at present, but contractors are finding it difficult to deliver some contracts because of the huge increase in the cost of materials and labour. Sawn timber has increased 90 per cent in a year. Steel has increased around 70 per cent. And copper, cement and other materials have increased significantly too. 

The increase in energy prices has contributed to this, but the sector tells me that Brexit has also played a part in these price increases. On top of the current difficulties, it's almost impossible for the construction sector and social housing to plan ahead. This increase means that they don't know whether they'll be able to stick to contractual obligations in future, so this uncertainty affects the workflow, and some constructors have had to let their staff go, and this means that work has stopped and has impacted development. 

So, in the light of this, is there urgent additional support that the Government can provide to bridge this gap to ensure that workflow continues and that the social housing construction targets are met?

Llywydd, I'd like to thank Mabon ap Gwynfor for those important points. What he said is true. We have an ambitious target as a Government to build more social housing for rent here in Wales. And I do acknowledge that the sector is facing a number of challenges at the moment. Officials do meet with the sector on a three-weekly basis to monitor the pressures on the supply chains. In terms of the organisations that we're working with, they include the Construction Leadership Council. The last meeting was held on 13 April, and it came to the conclusion that supply chain pressures had stabilised earlier this year. 

Since then, of course, Brexit, as the Member said, and inflation, shortage of labour and the impact of the war in Ukraine, continue to create real pressures in social housing construction. In the last financial year, the Government found more money—£24 million, I believe—in order to assist the sector to cope with the problems arising in those areas. And the Welsh Government is working with partners to mitigate these impacts to the extent that they are within our control or our sphere of influence.