Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty
This was published under the 2011 to 2016 administration of the Welsh Government
I am pleased to provide an update to Assembly Members on progress with the affordable housing target. Local Authorities have reported a total of 6,890 additional affordable homes have been delivered across Wales. This represents 69 per cent of our target of 10,000 additional affordable homes during this term of Government and clearly demonstrates we are on course to meet our target.
A vital component of meeting the target is the commitment of Housing Associations across Wales, underpinned by both funding and policy support from Welsh Government. This commitment was clearly set out in the Housing Supply Pact agreed between Welsh Government and Community Housing Cymru earlier this year. The ability of Housing Associations to use Social Housing Grant and their own resources as well as participating in innovative approaches to housing delivery, such as the Housing Finance Grant, is essential.
However, we should not be complacent and are piloting a number of loan schemes to support housing delivery, as well as reviewing how we make best use of the Social Housing Grant programme. For future delivery, we have already committed to expand the Housing Finance Grant further with a second phase, tripling the initial investment to provide an estimated 2,000 additional homes and create an estimated 5,000 additional jobs.
This performance is a clear signal of our continued commitment to housing and of the excellent progress made. We intend to continue to innovate to deliver more housing which is affordable, of a good standard and is accessible to a range of people’s needs. This will support our wider objectives of tackling poverty, preventing homelessness, mitigating the impact of welfare reform and underpinning the delivery of jobs and growth in Wales.