Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 27 September 2022.
In an emergency, we as a Senedd need to be able to pass emergency legislation; we can sit at weekends, if necessary, to do this. The Scottish Government has also announced a rent freeze at least until the end of March next year. Sadiq Khan, as Mayor of London, has asked for the power to introduce a rent freeze there. We have that power already in Wales, and since social housing rent won't increase anyway until 1 April, a rent freeze over the winter won't cost the Welsh Government a penny; it's focused on the private sector. Even Conservative MPs like Natalie Elphicke, a former chief executive of the Housing and Finance Institute, are making the case for a private sector rent freeze, arguing that there is no justification for the excessive rent hikes in recent times. Now, we prevent that in future through the system of fair rents that we outline in the co-operation agreement, but the choice that we're facing in Wales now this winter is between freezing rents or freezing people. So, will the Welsh Government act to introduce a rent freeze as the Scottish Government have done?