North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has challenged the Social Justice Minister over figures relating to the number of non-compliance stock with the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) in North Wales.
In January, Mr Isherwood, who shadows the Social Justice Minister, asked the Minister for Climate Change to respond to the concern raised by Gwynedd Council’s Fuel Poverty Officer at the Fuel Poverty Cross Party Group meeting last November, that there are high levels of non-compliance stock with the WHQS in Gwynedd.
A response from the Minister stated: “As at 31 March 2022, 100 per cent of social housing dwellings were compliant with WHQS, 78 per cent fully compliant”, but 22 per cent were only “compliant subject to an acceptable fail”.
However, speaking in Wednesday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood questioned the figures.
Addressing the Social Justice Minister, he said:
“Given your overarching responsibility for Fuel Poverty in the Welsh Government, how do you respond to official figures showing that almost 30 per cent of the Social Housing Stock in Gwynedd is termed 'acceptable fails', equivalent to the level in Flintshire, and rising to almost 42 per cent in Denbighshire, and that Anglesey has the highest level of prepayment meters in Wales, at almost 29 per cent, followed by Gwynedd at almost 22 per cent, and to the statement made to me by Gwynedd Council's Fuel Poverty Officer, when I met him last week, that in Gwynedd and Anglesey, where the rent is the same and yet energy costs can be significantly higher, this appears to be linked to broader rural, off-gas and older property issues?”
The Minister responded: “Clearly, this is an issue where across Government, working with my colleague the Minister for Climate Change, Julie James, we are leading on this all-important issue with our Warm Homes programme, which, of course, is now moving into an iteration for its next development, which will be about a demand-led approach. And, of course, that will help to address these issues.”
Mr Isherwood added:
“This month’s Bevan Foundation ‘State of Wales’ briefing states that ‘the energy efficiency of properties varies greatly across Wales’ and that ‘although all social housing in Wales was deemed to comply with the Welsh Housing Quality Standard, more than a fifth has at least one acceptable fail’.
“As we move forward to WHQS 2023, how do you respond to Gwynedd Council's Fuel Poverty Officer, who asked me 'How can we move on if we haven't finished the homework from the last granulation of WHQS, especially given the cost of retrofit for pre-1900 property?', and who stated 'I had another quick glance at WHQS 2023. I didn't spot the magic words "acceptable fail", but there seems to be a healthy peppering of caveats, no clear acknowledgement of the differing starting places on the grid’, and that ‘getting an off-gas ex-Forestry Commission cottage from 1910 to SAP 80 is rather tricky'?”
The Minister said the WHQS has “had to be revised and reviewed in terms of the circumstances, and also our ambitions in terms of moving to net zero with the 20,000 social housing target that we've got”.
Mr Isherwood added:
“Unless points raised with me by Gwynedd Council's Fuel Poverty Officer are addressed, the Welsh Government's next Welsh Housing Quality Standard and Warm Homes programme will be starting on a false premise, and aiming for standards that cannot be achieved where needs are greatest, without creative presentation of data.”