The biggest changes to social housing standards in Wales more than 20 years present ‘a huge opportunity in employment terms’, says a former Economy Minister.
Clwyd South MS Ken Skates lauded the announcement of a new Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) by Climate Change Minister Julie James in the Senedd on Tuesday.
“This is a bold and progressive standard that sets ambitious targets to make a difference to the overall quality of people’s lives, raises the bar for social housing and reflects the voice of tenants in Wales,” said the Minister.
And Mr Skates believes the ‘outstanding’ plans, which were welcomed by all parties, provide Welsh businesses with a golden opportunity.
He said: “Minister, I'd like to thank you for this outstanding statement. It contains huge ambition, which is very welcome indeed.
“And it is true that the scale of the challenge is extensive, but it's also a huge opportunity in employment and economic terms. So, will you be working with the Economy Minister in looking at how we maximise the economic and employment benefits of the investment that you'll be making into social housing?”
He continued: “The extra money is a significant sum. How do you anticipate ensuring that as much of that investment as possible remains with Welsh firms, who will be procured to undertake the work of upgrading social housing?”
The Minister said her department would work alongside Economy Minister Vaughan Gething on an apprenticeship programme, and promised: “We will be making sure that as much of the Welsh pound stays in the Welsh economy as possible.”
She added: “We work with our RSLs (Registered Social Landlords) and our stock-holding councils to make sure that they get the benefit of that. Many of our stock-holding councils, of course, still have direct labour organisations that benefit from that, so they will be able to directly take on both new craftspeople and, indeed, apprentices.
“So, I think you're right. This is not only a great opportunity for the tenants – it’s actually a real economic investment in the future.”
The original WHQS was introduced in 2002. Since then the Welsh Government, together with partners, has invested billions of pounds to improve and maintain the quality of social homes.
The WHQS 2023 sets out a new and challenging set of standards for social landlords to meet which the Minister said ‘will address decarbonisation in the social housing stock, ensure that homes are of a higher quality, affordable to heat and fit for the 21st century and beyond’.
Funding in the region of £270m is already available to help social landlords, with an additional £140m earmarked for the current financial year and next.
The Minister said: “What we learn from upgrading the 230,000 social homes in Wales will drive how we as a nation tackle decarbonising the 1.2m privately owned homes in Wales. The challenge of retrofitting the existing housing stock is vast. Every single house has a different history, and therefore our mission is to reduce carbon emissions home by home, and street by street.”
To social landlords, she added: “It would be easy to be overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge of upgrading social housing. We have done it before, and together we can do it again. We need to be pragmatic and rise to the challenge – Welsh tenants are counting on us.”
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