Wales: Some home truths for Grant Shapps

The former Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, is in Wales today and he’s said some interesting things ahead of his visit about how our Welsh Labour’s housing record compares with England. For interesting, see bogus. Only this week, the Welsh Government announced that we were going to outstrip our target for new affordable homes by a third. David Cameron, meanwhile, is presiding over the lowest levels of homes built in peacetime since the 1920s.

The BBC recently reported industry projections showing Wales was likely to see 18,000 new construction jobs over the next five years, with the construction industry as a whole likely to grow by 3.4% annually between now and 2018 – that would best all but one English region. No wonder Shapps is worried. This sort of projected boom, allied to rapidly falling unemployment in Wales, is not the picture the Tories in London want to paint of a Labour-run administration this close to a General Election.

This week I made a statement in the National Assembly for Wales, setting out a wide range of action I’ve taken on housing supply in recent months, here are some highlights that Mr Shapps might want to consider on his whistle-stop tour of Wales.

Finance

In September 2013, I launched the Housing Finance Grant. This £130 million investment will deliver more than 1,000 affordable homes for rent in the next two years. This funding mechanism is a first for Wales and is unique in a UK context – innovation based on partnership rather than edict and reduced investment

The ‘Help to Buy Wales’ shared equity scheme has been tailored to the needs of Welsh communities, with a maximum property price of £300,000 – rather than £600,000 as in England. We have also included specific measures to ensure small builders can easily participate in the scheme.

Policy and legislation

A major reform of the planning system is underway, with a Planning Bill to be introduced in the summer of this year. Action has been taken to simplify permitted development rights and new planning policy on the economic development role of planning has been issued. We are also giving the home building industry some more breathing space in relation to Part L Building Regulations, on Conservation of Fuel and Power.

We also recognise that many more people are now renting from private landlords and so our Housing and Renting Homes Bill will improve the experience of tenants and raise standards in this sector. The Coalition Government has taken no such action, perhaps not surprising with around a quarter of Conservative MPs being landlords.

Delivery

Our focus is on delivery, and we remain ambitious, despite the Tories’ £1.7bn cut to the Welsh budget. We have just revised up our affordable housing target to 10,000 new homes for this term. That is up by a third from the original target of 7,500. I am also appointing a Housing Supply Adviser to work with home builders, owners of land, local authorities, housing associations and the Welsh Government, in order to facilitate the building of good quality homes.

That is a track record we can be proud of in Wales, and one we think Ed and his team can look at in Westminster too.

Mr Shapps should be focusing on the track record of his own Government. The latest statistics on housing show that starts and completions in October-December 2013 were down 1% on the previous quarter – hardly a building boom.  Private sector starts were actually down despite the various initiatives that the Coalition Government has put in place. Net housing supply in England is at its lowest level since records began. Alongside this, homelessness and rough sleeping are rising.

And let’s think for a moment about homes for whom and at what price?

The UK Government has all but abandoned the concept of social housing.

Their ‘affordable’ housing programme means rents at 80% of market levels. This is distinctly unaffordable for many and means more people are reliant on benefits to help pay their housing costs at the very time that they are trying to reduce the benefits bill.

This is not an approach we intend to take – Welsh Labour will continue to invest in social housing.

And the Tory approach to Right to Buy, increased discounts on the basis of one for one replacement, does not stand up to scrutiny. The UK Government’s own figures tell the true story – just one replacement home for every seven sold. Welsh Labour is protecting social housing assets, not eroding them.

And then there is the recently announced Welsh Conservative policy to abolish stamp duty on homes worth up to £250,000 paid for out of Social Housing Grant. This would mean 500 fewer affordable homes funded by Welsh Government each year.

Welsh Labour acknowledges that we need more homes. We have taken action on this and will continue to do so. But not at the expense of those on the lowest incomes who are already suffering so much as a result of cuts and welfare reform.

Carl Sergeant is Minister for Housing & Regeneration in the Welsh Government