7. What assessment has the Minister made of the amount of empty housing stock on public authority-owned land? OQ58730

Thank you for raising this very important issue. The latest figures suggest that around 1 per cent of social housing stock held by local authorities has been vacant for more than six months.

Thank you. Now, you don't need me to tell you that, across north Wales, we have a severe shortage of housing accommodation. During 2021-22, 1,126 people contacted Gwynedd Council because they were homeless—50 per cent more than in 2018-19. Around 2,000 are on the list for social housing in Conwy County Borough Council, and in Wrexham, the number of individuals classed as homeless has more than doubled to 2,238, from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

Now, despite people being so desperate for housing units, it is a fact that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has as many as 750 units of accommodation across north Wales that are not in use. I have raised it with the Minister for health; I have raised it also with the Minister for Climate Change. The Minister for Health and Social Services informed me again last week that the health board is now in the process of looking at procurement options to work with a partner for its residences. Now, I know from liaising with registered social landlords that these units could be made into viable housing stock, either for those in the medical sector, or, indeed, those who simply want a home. So, Minister, do you agree with me, given that I have raised these concerns now for—oh, I started raising them last year, when I found out that we had all this empty housing stock. Do you not think that it's unacceptable that there isn't some kind of partnership working now between the Minister for Climate Change, who is responsible for housing; the Minister for health; and whoever it takes, to get this empty stock back in as livable, warm, safe homes for all those many, many hundreds of people who just lie lingering on a housing waiting list? Diolch. 

Well, I appreciate you raising it, and it is a good question, and I thank you for raising it. You have written to us and we are working on a response and getting to the bottom of the situation in Betsi Cadwaladr. Of course, not all vacant housing stock in public ownership is available or suitable for letting: they may well be being kept for other schemes; they may be part of further developments. So, it's not a simple picture; that's why we need to try to get to the bottom of it. [Interruption.] Janet Finch-Saunders tells me it's a lot simpler than I think. Well, things may seem simple from the opposition benches; I can promise you that, in Government, things are often a little more complex than they seem. But she is right to raise it, we want to tackle it; we have ambitious plans to bring empty homes across Wales back into use.

I was involved in a pilot in the Valleys taskforce, based on an excellent scheme that Rhondda Cynon Taf have been running for a number of years of giving grants to private homeowners to bring empty properties back into use. Rhondda Cynon Taf again are showing great leadership in increasing the council tax on empty homes and recycling that funding into getting more empties filled up, and that is something other local authorities have available to them. They can increase council tax by 300 per cent on empty homes that have been empty for more than six months. Across all social landlords—local authorities and RSLs—something like 1,700 units were vacant for over six months, and of these 286 units were available for letting and were awaiting a tenant.

So, there is considerable potential there to try and quickly get these back into use, and we are providing over £24 million to purchase and refurbish empty properties, and a further £65 million in what's snappily called the transitional accommodation capital programme, to respond to this. We'll be bringing more than 1,000 additional homes into use over the next 18 months as good quality, long-term homes for people. But I will write to you once we have further information on the specific example that you cite. 

Finally, question 8, Altaf Hussain.