SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has called for more to be done to tackle homelessness.
Mr Rowlands, speaking during the Welsh Conservatives Debate: Housing and homelessness said: “Welsh Government has been responsible for housing since 1999 and clearly not meeting the needs of people across Wales, emphasised by the fact that 13,500 people last year presented themselves as homeless, an 8% increase from the previous years.
“One of the biggest problems leading to homelessness is a lack of homes being built. In Wales, one of the biggest factors that we’re seeing is not enough homes being built.
“I would advocate, that the best kind of tenure for people and what they actually want is to own their own home. Survey after survey, response after response, says that people want to be able to own their own home. It provides stability and security.
“Clearly, the planning process is not enabling people to have more houses built that are absolutely necessary, and in particular to encourage home ownership. This is not just a new phenomenon it has been in place and exacerbated by the whole time that Labour Government have been in office here in Wales.
“For house building in Wales, average output has fallen over the years, and last year was the second-lowest number of new home completions in Wales since records began in 1974-75. There’s a real basic issue there.
“We want to tackle homelessness, we need more homes to be built, and we know that people want to own their own homes, and we should be making that as easy as possible for them to do.”
Jane Bryant, Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government said the Welsh Government were more broadly intent on exploring all opportunities to deliver more affordable homes in Wales, with a firm focus on ending homelessness.
