Bates wins housing concession

Release/Rhyddhau: Thursday, 20^th October 2005

Contact/Cyswllt: Ceirion Rees:
029 2089 8342/ 07733280105/ ceirion.rees@wales.gov.uk

Welsh Liberal Democrat Social Justice spokesperson, Mick Bates is today celebrating a major victory in the fight for affordable housing in Wales.

In a committee today, Mick persuaded the Minister for Social justice and Regeneration, Edwina Hart to include the Home-Buy Scheme as a separate budget line in the Assembly’s spending plans. This will ensure that the scheme can be subject to greater scrutiny by backbench AMs.  At the same time news came through that number of Right to Buy sales have fallen in Wales during the second quarter of this year.

Mick said: “For a long time Welsh Liberal Democrats have been calling for a breakdown of the Home-Buy Scheme to be included in the Assembly’s budget.  Now we have it we can fully scrutinise government action to tackle the affordable housing crisis.

“The next step for Edwina Hart is to suspend the Right to Buy in areas where the housing crisis is at its worst.  The news that sales are falling is very encouraging.  However, many parts of the country need an extra boost that only suspension of the scheme can provide.

“The affordable housing crisis is a huge issue in all parts of Wales.  We need greater action to ensure the dream of a home for many young people becomes a reality.” 

Notes:
The key results for the April to June quarter 2005 show:

• There were 1,190 RTB claims during the April to June quarter 2005, around 900 less than the April to June 2004 figure of 2,093.

• The level of claims has fallen back to the level before the recent “surge”. There were around 1,500 claims during the same quarter in 2000 and around 1,740 in 2001.

• There were 509 completed RTB sales during the April to June quarter 2005, 760 less than a year earlier.

• There were 2,819 RTB applications outstanding at end-June 2005 compared with 5,500 applications outstanding a year earlier.