Peter Black slams Labour housing record

Wales Online reports that more than 2,000 people in Wales have been on a housing waiting list for more than a decade. Nearly 9,000 people have been waiting for more than five years, the figures suggest

Peter Black, Liberal Democrat AM for South Wales West  and the party's housing spokesman, responds:

“These figures are a stark reminder just how bad the housing shortage is here in Wales. Fifteen years of Welsh Labour in Government has led to literally thousands of people waiting over a decade for a home. It is simply unacceptable that so many people here in Wales have had to put their life on hold until a home is available to them.

“Due to major failings with our NHS and our schools, it often goes unnoticed quite how badly Labour has let people down with regards to housing. Over a decade of inaction has led to an acute housing shortage.

“For too long the Welsh Labour Government has taken a haphazard approach to housing targets. The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe the Government’s Housing Act should have included a statutory duty for Government Ministers to set termly targets for the supply of new affordable homes.

“After each Assembly election, a new target must be set, with a duty to review it and report back annually. This issue is so important that these targets should be enshrined in law.

“Many of us are aware of derelict and empty homes in or near our neighbourhood. Not only are they a blight on our communities, but they also, frankly, are a waste of living space. It’s time the Welsh Government developed an empty homes strategy so we can finally put these buildings back into use.”