After Welsh Government published key data on affordable housing supply and progress towards the 20,000 homes target on Thursday, WHQ spoke to housing secretary Jayne Bryant.
Our story yesterday looked at what happened in 2024/25 and the projection that the target will only be met seven months after the end of this Senedd term.
We asked the minister for her reaction to that, about the pressure of rising costs and what comes next. Can this be the start of a long-term increase in the supply of affordable homes?
WHQ: From the figures released this morning, you look set to miss the target of 20,000 affordable homes in this Senedd term and only hit it in November 2026. Does that leave you with a glass half-empty, that you think it will be missed, or half-full, that you’re coming closer to it than maybe some people thought?
Jayne Bryant: I’m always a glass half-full person, really. The data released today does show that we will exceed the target by the end of the year, by November 2026. And I just want to say that’s been a huge effort by everyone involved, from RSLs to local authorities to everybody who’s been really focused on delivering this, because it’s been a stretching target right from the start, which is what targets should be. That has helped really drive this forward, along with the record levels of investment that we’ve put in – over £2 billion by the end of this Senedd term will have gone into that. That sustained investment has helped with confidence within the sector as well. But I do feel that everybody’s been pushing in the in the same direction on this and I think today’s the day to really recognise all the effort that has gone in from everyone.
WHQ: There’s obviously been a backdrop of difficult economic times, and you’ve had to change the definitions, for example by including bringing long-term voids back into use. How much of a struggle has it been and how much have rising construction costs been a factor in that?
Jayne Bryant: You’re right to point out that sort of backdrop. For example, we know that it costs twice as much now to build a home or to acquire home as it did when we set the target. So there is that real pressure. Don’t forget, with the issue of voids, that was something that came from the Affordable Housing Taskforce that we accepted as a recommendation. These are homes that wouldn’t have been brought into use if we hadn’t put that investment in. So it’s not about making up the numbers, this is about the fact that we’re being as transparent as we can. We’re responding to the recommendations from the taskforce. But, as I said, the average cost to build a home via Social Housing Grant between 2021/22 and 2024/25 has increased by 78 per cent. That’s quite a significant amount.
WHQ: I was astonished when I first heard that. Is that purely a result of rising costs for bricks and all the other construction materials that go into a home?
Jayne Bryant: It’s costs of that and labour. Everything costs more and I think housing is not immune from that. The other aspect is around our standards. We are building and acquiring, making sure we’ve got homes that are of a good standard. These are homes made of a good quality, which is a testament, again, to the efforts that we’re making here to make sure we’re having homes that people live in for now and the future.
WHQ: Finally, looking to the next Senedd term, if everyone’s not too exhausted from rushing to meet the target in this one, are there lessons to be learned if we’re to make this mean a long-term sustainable increase in social housing?
Jayne Bryant: As you can imagine, I think we’ve got a really good pipeline here in Wales on this. The fact that we’ve been able to sustain that record level funding and that delivery has helped that confidence. I think we do need to keep going. You have the target but we need to keep going after that. But we’ve also got the recommendations from the Affordable Housing Taskforce that are more for the medium and longer term. So again we are cracking on with that. I’ve had already had two meetings with others to take ownership of some of those recommendations to drive that forward. So we’re trying to work on so many fronts to deliver for people. And, as you’ll know, this is focused on our social homes today but that doesn’t mean that we’re not investing in other areas, like Help to Buy, for example, where we’re seeing that 85 per cent of people who’ve been helped to help to buy are first-time buyers. There’s lots going on.