Our commitment is absolutely demonstrated in the investments that we are making: over £197 million of housing support and homeless prevention services, and a record £310 million in social housing this year alone. We do not underestimate, however, the scale of the challenge facing households across Wales, who are, understandably, extremely worried about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on them and their families. That is why we are working across the Government to offer and deliver immediate support for those most in need.

As the Minister for Social Justice set out in a recent cost-of-living debate, in this financial year alone, we will be spending £1.6 billion on targeted cost-of-living support and universal programmes to put money back in people’s pockets and help alleviate this crisis. Only a few weeks ago, the First Minister announced an additional three measures that we will implement, on a third ‘Claim what’s yours’ campaign, on warm spaces and on foodbanks.

Turning specifically to the private rented sector, in January this year, I launched leasing scheme Wales, committing £30 million over five years to improve access to longer term affordable housing in the private rented sector. It will deliver security for tenants and confidence for landlords. The scheme is designed to support the most disadvantaged people and households who are experiencing, or who are at risk of, homelessness. Tenants on the scheme will benefit from longer term security of tenure between five and 20 years and rents restricted to local housing allowance rates. There will be additional funding to ensure that they receive the level of support that they would expect in social housing. We have also provided £300,000 of funding for Citizens Advice Cymru, to establish the private rented sector or PRS debt helpline. During the first year of the scheme, more than 900 tenants have been supported.

But it is clear, looking at the legislation laid in Scotland, that neither rent freezes nor an eviction moratorium offers a panacea or absolute certainty for tenants. I’m sure that Members have seen the paper from Crisis on this very topic. Crisis points out that a blanket rent freeze policy benefits all tenants in the rented sector, but not all tenants in the rented sector are experiencing problems with affordability. The private rented sector in particular—and these are Crisis’s words, not mine—is a very diverse sector in terms of the households it serves, from students and young professionals, to families with children and older households. There is a group of middle-income households for whom affordability is not such a problem. There’s a sizable group who are really struggling to meet their housing costs, who these proposals might benefit. There’s also a group who are already having to make up shortfalls between their rent and their housing benefit. Now, a rent freeze and an eviction ban would serve to delay evictions of this group, but would not eliminate the risk of accruing rent arrears. They go on to say that they support exactly what this Government is doing, which is to target the support at the people who are most vulnerable in this sector and make sure that they stay in their homes. We do not want to drive landlords away from the sector; we want to make sure that people take advantage of the PRS and stay in their homes.

So, while on the face of it—as many Members who have contributed to this debate have pointed out—a temporary moratorium could be seen as a way of keeping people in their homes, it has absolutely been the case that it does not do so for a very long time. It just delays the point where people face mandatory evictions in the spring, for rent arrears that they find very difficult to pay back. So, targeted help for them at the time, in their home, is a much better way to do it. And legislating to introduce a rent freeze does not impact on new lettings. Recent academic evidence has highlighted that the consequence of rent controls in many countries—for example, Ireland, as people have pointed out—has been landlords leaving the market in really large numbers. This further reduces the availability of housing and risks driving up cases of homelessness, particularly for the most vulnerable tenants, who are not able to access alternative rental accommodation.

Also, rent control measures have proven to act as a target rather than a cap in some jurisdictions. So, our preferred approach is absolutely to ensure that tenants are supported in staying in their own homes, and to provide financial assistance, which we have already put in place and is available right now. This is not any kind of ‘do nothing’ option. And of course, we are bringing in the renting homes Act in December, which is a real shift in the protection afforded to tenants in the PRS.

And of course we need to develop a robust and long-term solution that will ensure a sustainable rental sector in Wales. To do this, we need to understand fully, through evidence, what the issues are in different parts of the country and what implications various rent control options may have, if introduced. That is why we have committed, under the co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru, to developing a White Paper during this Government term. We've commissioned research, which is now under way, to develop the evidence base to support the right kind of rent controls for the right kind of property in the right place. However, given the escalating prices, I am keen to gather as many views as possible on potential interventions to inform the development of the White Paper, so today, I will confirm that we will be publishing and engaging on a Green Paper ahead of, and in order to inform, the White Paper. 

Deputy Llywydd, this Government is committed to using all the levers we have to help people in a sustainable manner to remain in their homes and avoid homelessness. The UK Government needs to take immediate action on reversing their outrageous freeze on the local housing allowance. Various Conservative Members have contributed to this debate, but I call on them once more to make very public their call on the UK Government to reinstate the local housing allowance. It is driving poverty in the sector and it does not help the landlords. The landlords would be better helped if the local housing allowance was at the right level as well. They would be better able to help their tenants. So, this is hurting everyone and helping no-one. I've again this week written to the UK Government calling on them to unfreeze and uplift the local housing allowance rates as part of them honouring their commitment to increase benefits in line with inflation. I really hope that we are not going to see this incredibly right-wing Government come down hard on benefit claimants at a point in time when they are clearly trying to increase the wealth of the wealthiest part of our population. It is absolutely unthinkable that they keep local housing rates frozen at a time when private rented sector rents are rising at the fastest rate in over a decade in many areas, and there's a significant gap between people's rental costs and the current rates being paid.

Compounding the failure to unfreeze and increase the local housing allowance is the cutting of other welfare budgets that are needed now more than ever. The discretionary housing payment budget can be used by local authorities to support people most affected by the benefit cuts, but this year, the Tory Government saw fit to cut that budget by approximately 27 per cent, or £2.3 million compared to last year. This is on top of a previous 18 per cent reduction. These are huge reductions in funding, and they exacerbate the plight of those already experiencing the cost-of-living crisis. I've previously called on the UK Government to reinstate these cuts. There's no indication that they will heed those calls, and I call on the Conservative benches here today to say publicly that they think that these cuts are wrong and should be reversed.

So, to conclude, Deputy Llywydd, we acknowledge the huge cost-of-living crisis faced by households across Wales. I've set out today in the short time available that we are and will continue to support people across Wales through this extraordinarily challenging time. We are accelerating our actions to better understand the potential impacts and consequences of additional measures, but we do not believe in bringing in measures without a robust evidence base, as we know that they can have very serious unintended consequences and lead to increased homelessness.

As always, Llywydd, I would like to end by extending my gratitude to all the people working in homelessness services across Wales. They have worked extraordinarily hard right through the pandemic and continuing on to make sure that, in Wales, everyone receives a service, unlike across the border—I'll just point that out: unlike across the border, everyone in Wales receives a service for homelessness, and we are doing our absolute damndest to make sure that people can stay safe and secure in their homes through this oncoming winter crisis. Diolch.