Responding to the newly published Welsh Government housing figures, Welsh Conservative Mark Isherwood AM said:
“Today’s figures are hugely despairing and prove that Wales’ housing needs are far from being met.
“When compared to figures from last year, the report points to a 3.5% drop in the number of new houses started to be built this year, which in real terms amounts to 247 fewer houses.
“To compound matters, the same report highlights that in the last year, just 6789 new houses were completed – a drop of 3000 houses compared to the same statistics from 10 years ago.
“Wales now exists in a state of isolation from the rest of the UK, as the only nation to see house completion rates falling.
“In 2010, a report commissioned by the Welsh Government concluded that 12,000 new housing units would need to be built annually – between 2011 and 2031 – to meet a growing housing demand. This is double the number of houses built in the last year.
“With 90,000 applicants still stuck on a housing waiting list*, the Welsh Labour Government’s target of creating 20,000 affordable homes in the next Assembly term looks both tragically inadequate and unambitious.
“The First Minister needs to concede that he is ill-prepared to tackle Labour’s longstanding housing supply crisis in Wales and must explain what steps he intends to take to halt it.”
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