Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:38 pm on 15 November 2022.
Llywydd, I certainly agree with Heledd Fychan that the Unnos project has a part to play, an important part to play, in allowing us to accelerate the building of long-term affordable homes for people in every part of Wales. That ambition will not help the person who has contacted the Member in their immediate difficulties, which is why it is right that we go on together investing in those measures that provide some immediate relief for people who find themselves with nowhere to live, and that includes the transitional accommodation capital programme. That will create over 1,000 new homes for people here in Wales. They will be places that people can call their own, they will be places that people will be able to plan the future of their lives. Beyond the transitional accommodation, there will be permanent accommodation to be found as well. And that's why, Llywydd, we invest in bringing empty homes back into use here in Wales—a £43 million recyclable fund that has already brought in 1,600 homes that otherwise would not be available for occupation, or where the physical conditions would be so difficult that people might be forced not to go on living in them. Over 1,600 homes have been brought into use in that way, and a further 1,300 occupied homes made safe for people to stay in as well.
There is an imbalance between the demand for housing in Wales and the supply of it. That's apparent to anybody who represents people who come to surgeries and tell us of the difficulties that they are facing. But, by increasing supply and supporting people so that when they do take up tenancies, they're able to maintain them in the best possible way, we have the plan in place in Wales that will get us to a better place for those people who, in many parts of Wales, face the same difficulties as the individual Heledd Fychan has talked to us about this afternoon.