Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, Carl Sargeant will announce that the Welsh Government will invest an additional £30 million this year towards providing 20,000 affordable new homes.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
He will also join with Community Housing Cymru and the WLGA to sign a Housing Supply Delivery pact, underlining the importance of partnership working in delivering 20,000 affordable homes during this term of Government.
The Welsh Government’s affordable housing target of 10,000 additional affordable homes in the last Assembly was exceeded, with the Housing Supply Pact between Welsh Government and Community Housing Cymru playing an important role in meeting that target.
Carl Sargeant said the new pact between the Welsh Local Government Association, Community Housing Cymru and the Welsh Government would support the achievement of the new target.
Carl Sargeant said:
“I want to strengthen the partnerships through which we can meet the new target as this will strongly influence our approach to housing supply over the next five years.
“We plan to invest over £1.5 billion in affordable homes during this term of government. Continued support for social housing is crucial. ‘Business as usual’ is not an option but tried and tested schemes including the Social Housing Grant (SHG) Programme and Housing Finance Grant will play a key role in delivering affordable homes and assisting the most vulnerable to access and keep their housing.
“The original Social Housing Grant (SHG) Programme budget for this year was £68 million. The additional £30 million I am announcing today will take this programme’s budget to almost £100 million.”
Carl Sargeant said it was also important to look beyond the numbers and show ambition in the design and quality of the homes being built.
“I want the sector to support the development and delivery of new types of homes that meet not only current demands and needs, but also those of the future,” he said.
“This includes the use of innovative building methods. It also includes action to meet the challenges of fuel poverty and our carbon reduction targets.”
The Cabinet Secretary added:
“Building homes delivers important benefits beyond simply putting a roof over people’s heads. Alongside the well-documented health and education benefits that good quality housing provides for children and families, building homes of all tenures has a significant positive impact on the Welsh economy and on our communities. Delivering new homes for Wales is at the heart of my ambition for the new Assembly term.”