JOYCE WATSON AM welcomed Welsh Assembly Government action to increase the number of affordable housing for people in Wales, make improvements for tenants and local communities, reduce bureaucracy and encourage innovation.
The first steps are:
- Giving registered social landlords - mainly housing associations - more flexibility to make greater use of their assets to borrow more money to fund building more homes, and provide additional facilities for communities.
- Cutting red tape - make the application process more streamlined for housing associations to seek permission to borrow money to invest in new property
Encouraging housing associations to provide new homes to higher standards that will reduce carbon emissions and increasing energy efficiency which will help cut household fuel bills. - Making it easier for housing associations to apply for Physical Adaptation Grants and prevent backlogs in carrying out adaptations to the homes of some of our more vulnerable tenants.
- Giving housing associations greater freedom when working with Local Authorities to purchase existing properties.
Labour Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales JOYCE WATSON AM said:
“The Assembly Government has put this package of measures in place only a month after the publication of the major Essex Report on affordable housing.
"The measures address some of the key recommendations of the report which was commissioned by the Assembly Government in October 2007 to look at how the Assembly Government could deliver its commitment to make at least 6,500 extra affordable homes available.”
-
