May I echo Janet's earlier words and say how good it is to see the Minister back, and that she and her family have been in our thoughts during this recent difficult period?

But thank you to the Minister for today's statement. Of course, setting housing quality standards is laudable, and we have seen improvements in standards for many of our homes. But the fact remains that a high percentage of homes in the public sector continue to be of a low standard. The Minister said at the beginning of her statement that 99 per cent reached the original quality standards set, but almost 55,000 of the public housing stock in Wales are in what is called 'compliant subject to acceptable fails'. This is almost a quarter of the public housing stock. Well, acceptable fails means a number of different things. Very often it means that one can’t afford to bring it up to the necessary standard. So, does the Minister believe that this figure is acceptable?

Recent statistics have also shown that we know, of course, that around 15 per cent of the housing stock is in the private rented sector and around the same number, 16 per cent, is social housing. Of the social housing, 93 per cent of those are homes that are clear of dangers, but in the private sector, it’s only 75 per cent—three quarters—that are clear of dangers. We also know that the performance is a lot worse in terms of energy performance and emissions in the private sector. So, what’s the Minister going to do in order to narrow that gap between the private and public sectors, in order to ensure that all houses in Wales meet these necessary standards?

While steps have been taken to ensure that the public housing stock in Wales is energy efficient, as we’ve heard, the truth is that they’re not even reaching the necessary levels now. Retrofitting continues to be a huge challenge, and although I welcome the fact that you have prioritised decarbonisation, the truth is that the costs in tackling retrofit and decarbonisation are huge. You can’t expect the public housing sector to increase rents in order to pay those retrofitting costs, and, in the current climate, where construction costs are increasing so vastly, it’s going to be very difficult for the sector to decide whether they build new homes or retrofit. So, where will the sector get the additional necessary funding in order to ensure that they meet these heating standards?

Then, in looking at the new consultation that you’re bringing forward, we do have to bear in mind that Wales in 2023 is very different to Wales in 2002. And one of the new necessary things in this age is broadband. So, I would ask whether, during your consultation, you will consider asking a question as to how important it is to have access to broadband and ensure that broadband is available in all homes as part of these housing standards.

Also, society is now coming to appreciate that everyone has a right to a home that is fit for purpose, and everyone has their different needs—some, of course, have health problems, some have conditions such as motor neurone disease, others will be visually impaired, others will have mobility problems, and so on and so forth. So, what work are you doing as a Government to identify the needs of people who have these various different needs and to ensure that this is part of the consideration as we move forward to Welsh housing quality standard 2?

Finally, you will also appreciate that quality of life in a house is not only reliant on bricks and mortar; it’s reliant on the services available too. So, in this consultation on Welsh housing quality standard 2, will you also consider the need to look at access to services in terms of public transport and how easy it is for people to live in those communities where the homes and houses are to be built? Thank you.