Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:05 pm on 15 November 2022.
I thank Cefin Campbell for that supplementary question. I have had one opportunity to discuss with civil servants who have looked at the experience in Carmarthenshire, because it does stand out, doesn't it? When you see what's happened in Carmarthenshire in the context of south-west Wales, the record in Carmarthenshire is different to that of other local authorities. What officials have suggested to me, just in that initial conversation, is that Carmarthenshire has been working in this field over the long term. They have purchased homes when homes come on to the market for sale, and they have a development programme that is deeper in breadth than that of other local authorities in the region. So, it is possible that there are lessons to be learned from the experience of Carmarthenshire.
Carmarthenshire has also collaborated with us as a Government, and Carmarthenshire was one of the original local authorities where we had lifted the right to buy social housing, and that has helped in Carmarthenshire in the longer term as compared to other local authorities. And they've worked with us to use the funding that we have provided to bring empty homes back into use for rental purposes.
So, I think it is important to look into the experiences in Carmarthenshire to see whether there is something different that the council is doing there, but also to place that in the context of the effort that we are making to help, to help to invest with local authorities as a whole and with other groups who do important work in the field.