Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Climate Change – in the Senedd at 1:54 pm on 19 October 2022.

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Photo of Mabon ap Gwynfor Mabon ap Gwynfor Plaid Cymru 1:54, 19 October 2022

The next question, if I may, is on recent research that was commissioned by Back the Bill partners, including Tai Pawb, Shelter Cymru and the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru. They found that introducing a right to adequate housing would generate significant savings for the public purse. The benefits are significant. The research identified benefits to the public purse worth £11.5 billion over a 30-year period, with an initial 10-year cost of £5 billion. It goes without saying that investing in the improved quality and suitability of homes would lead to fewer hospital admissions. Equally, with a gradual increase in the number of suitable homes available, there'd be less reliance on council and other homelessness support services and so on. So, we welcome the upcoming White Paper, and the Green Paper announced last week in this area, and I very much look forward to co-operating with you to ensure the housing sector can provide for everyone's needs in Wales. However, after decades of chronic underfunding in social housing, does the Minister agree that now is the time to implement an invest-to-save model, as advocated for by Tai Pawb, Shelter Cymru and CIH Cymru, and to embed the right to adequate housing into legislation, as embedded in the United Nations convention on human rights?