Contact me ...   

T: 01686 625527 / 02920 898342

E: mick.bates@wales.gov.uk

Mick Bates

Press Releases 2007

Click here to send us your views!

Commenting on the publication of a report on council housing today [Tuesday], Welsh Liberal Democrat Social Justice spokesperson Mick Bates said:

“I look forward to reading the report in depth, but I am concerned that the need to build more council houses may have been overlooked.

“Building more council houses is the way to tackle the current affordable housing crisis in this country. This can be done by encouraging communities to build their own houses through Community Land Trusts. It can also be achieved by suspending the right to buy in areas where there is high demand for housing.

“I am concerned about the suggestion that council rents could be means tested. This will either deter people from working or divide neighbourhoods, instead of integrating communities.

“Labour′s failure to build enough social housing has left a legacy of long waiting lists which are at the root of this problem, and the only answer is to address the high demand for housing we face in some parts of Wales.”