Cross Party Housing Group
The mission statement of the Welsh Assembly’s Cross Party Group on housing makes it clear what members intend to achieve and that is ‘to promote joint working by identifying and debating current themes in housing and homelessness.’
In the current political climate when parties have very different ideas on homelessness and housing benefit changes, you may think that’s a difficult mission to achieve.
But in many ways, it is the reasons for those policy differences that have drawn us together to try to find a consensus. Those, of course, are the lack of affordable housing in Wales, increased homelessness and the increasing difficulties of meeting the housing needs of vulnerable people.
Politically, we sometimes approach these problems from very different standpoints but there are areas where, I believe, we have reached an agreement over how we can tackle the need to increase our housing supply.
For example, there has been cross party support for bringing empty homes back into use by means of a policy which was advocated by the Communities and Culture Committee which I chaired in the last Assembly and which is now being adopted by the Welsh Government using a recyclable loan fund Houses into Homes. The Cross Party Group also believes the Supporting People fund in Wales will continue to help vulnerable people and play a part in helping to avoid homelessness.
And of course, we all firmly agree that we must increase the supply and quality of our housing generally.
As Chair, I am fortunate to have so much experience and expertise on the committee. Jocelyn Davies (Plaid Cymru) and Peter Black (Liberal Democrat) are both former deputy Housing Ministers, while Mark Isherwood (Conservative) is shadow housing spokesperson. As importantly, we have the support and encouragement of the Welsh Government’s Housing Minister Huw Lewis, and our fellow AMs. Fourteen members attended our first meeting, underlining the fact that housing is a major issue for us all. In addition we are pleased to receive invaluable input from experts in the housing community, including Shelter Cymru and CIH Cymru.
There are clearly challenges ahead. But already the Cross Party Group has met for discussions with First Minister Carwyn Jones, a meeting which was appreciated by all members. We now look forward to the Welsh Government’s White Paper on Housing. The message is clear – there is a commitment from AMs of all parties on the Cross Party Housing Group to work to help meet those challenges.
Sandy Mewies, Labour AM Delyn.