North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has today challenged the Cabinet Secretary for Housing over the deepening housing crisis facing Wales.
Speaking in today's meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood referred to latest official statistics showing that unmet housing need in Wales has increased by 64 per cent since 2019.
He stressed that one in 14 households are on a waiting list and thousands are living in temporary accommodation.
Calling on the Cabinet Secretary to respond, Mr Isherwood said:
"Following years of ignored warnings by the Housing Sector from 2003, and a cut of over 70 per cent in new social housing, so that, by 2010, Wales had the lowest proportional housing spend of any UK nation under what was then a coalition Labour/Plaid Cymru Government, the housing crisis continues to deepen today, with one in 14 households on a waiting list, and thousands living in temporary accommodation.
"How do you, therefore, respond to the Audit Wales update on its 2024 'Affordable Housing' report, published last month, which found that, on recent projections, the Welsh Government will fall short of its target to deliver 20,000 low-carbon social homes for rent during this Senedd term, and that the true number of homes delivered that meet the full target definition is still not completely clear from the published data; and to the latest official statistics showing that unmet housing need in Wales has increased by 64 per cent since 2019, with an article in Welsh Housing Quarterly suggesting that the true level of unmet need may be ‘significantly more’ than previously estimated?"
In her response, the Cabinet Secretary said:
"We are on schedule to deliver 93 per cent of the target by the end of this Senedd term, with hundreds more homes under way."
Speaking afterwards, Mr Isherwood added:
“In reality, Audit Wales provided an independent update on their analysis of the latest affordable housing delivery data in Wales on 18th February, after their 2024 Affordable Housing report found that the Welsh Government’s delivery figures ‘included some homes that did not fit the definition suggested by the target’, which found that although the Welsh Government has since improved transparency through its statistical release, “the true number of homes delivered that meet the full target definition – new-build, low carbon social homes to rent – is still not completely clear from the published data”.
