7. What action is the Welsh Government taking to increase the availability of social housing in Cynon Valley? OQ60497

Thank you for the question, Vikki Howells. This Government remains committed to delivering 20,000 homes for rent in the social sector this Senedd term. To support this commitment, record levels of funding have been provided through the social housing grant. Rhondda Cynon Taf has been allocated nearly £20 million, actually £19,975,226 to be precise, for social housing in 2023-24.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. Trivallis housing association gave 10 RCT families an early Christmas present last year, presenting them with keys to newly renovated family homes. These empty properties had been brought back into use through the transitional accommodation capital programme, transforming these families' lives, but also improving communities by bringing derelict properties back into use. I know Trivallis are keen to scale up this work, so whilst appreciating the pressures upon Government finances, I'd be keen to know how Welsh Government is working with social landlords, councils and other partners to bring specifically empty properties back to life and provide warm, safe, quality homes.

Thank you very much for that question. It’s a really excellent one and it’s been great to see the Trivallis programme running out. As you rightly said, it’s part of the transitional accommodation capital programme that we established in 2022. The TACP programme, as it’s called—we love an acronym in the Welsh Government—provides funding to social landlords for a wide range of projects to deliver more homes at pace, and that includes, as you rightly say, Vikki, bringing void properties back into use. During the 2022-23 financial year, the programme provided funding to bring 374 voids, as they’re called, or empty properties, back into use to provide better quality, longer term accommodation for those currently living in poor-quality temporary accommodation. Applications to bring voids back into use are again being supported in this year, 2023-24. We work extensively with local authorities and registered social landlords to share good practice in relation to TACP, including the use of voids, and to support them to maximise available funding to bring forward good-quality homes at pace.

There are a number of other measures and funding packages in place to reduce the number of long-term empty homes in Wales. There’s £30 million, as I’ve said a couple of times in answer to other Members this afternoon, over the next five years for the leasing scheme Wales programme to support improvements to accommodation to bring them into the scheme, and an investment of £50 million is being made available to bring up to 2,000 long-term empty properties back into use through our empty homes grant scheme. The funding will accelerate our work to bring empty properties back into use and to complement our existing schemes. It does include nearly £43 million of recyclable funding we’ve provided to local authorities to enable them to provide interest-free property loans for landlords and home owners, for home improvements or to renovate empty properties and bring them back into use. Those loans have been used to bring around 1,850 units into use from empty properties across Wales and to improve around 1,700 occupied homes, which have now been brought up to standard.

And again, Llywydd, if you’ll indulge me for one second, I did meet a member of the public who’d taken advantage of those loans in your area, Vikki, a couple of years ago—I know you know the home owner in question—and not only had they got a home for themselves, but the entire street was lifted by it, and there was a real community feel to this empty home coming back into use, and taking away a blight on the street and replacing it with a lovely young family that had brought vibrancy to the community, and it was a joy to see. So, it really does work both for communities and for homes.

And finally, question 8, Mabon ap Gwynfor.