May 10, 2022 - 1684 views
Climate Change Minister Julie James has today announced the upcoming launch of a consultation on proposed new social housing quality standard for Wales.
The Minister said the Welsh Housing Quality Standard 2023 (WHQS 2023) would ‘build on the excellent achievements of its predecessor’ - the standard introduced in 2002.
Since then, the Welsh Government has worked with social landlord delivery partners to invest billions of pounds to significantly improve and maintain the quality of social homes across Wales.
As a result, by the end of 2020, 99 per cent of social housing in Wales met the original WHQS - a standard which is more demanding than in the other home nations.
Speaking in the Senedd, the Minister said: "Reflecting on the levels of achievement of the current standard, I am sure members will agree that, after 20 years, the standard is due to be reviewed, especially to acknowledge the considerable changes to how people live, work and feel about their homes.
"The world has moved on apace in the last 20 years and our expectation of our homes has moved on too.
"The proposed standard aims to be bold but ultimately achievable. We aim with our consultation to ensure that the voice of the sector is taken into account in finalising these standards and getting them right.
"Setting standards is not an easy business at the best of times. It is even more challenging setting standards relating to the decarbonisation of homes - which is a developing area where we are learning what works best on an ongoing basis.
"The £220m committed over this term of government to the Optimised Retrofit Programme, our whole house, pragmatic, approach to decarbonising existing homes will help.
"It will provide some of the answers to how we effectively and efficiently reduce carbon emissions from homes in line with our Net Zero Wales plan.
"However, in the face of the climate change emergency we cannot stand still, and we must continue to push progress and set standards to address decarbonisation through a variety of measures in existing social housing."
More than 900 tenants have been involved in the development of the new standard and technical elements have been supported by experts who have looked at what else is happening across the UK and the rest of the world.
The Minister added: "I make no apology for proposing what some will see as a bold approach, I am determined the standards bar should be raised again.
"Meeting our Net Zero Wales targets requires us to make determined progress and I believe these standards are fit to take us forward in that regard.
"Our social housing tenants deserve these standards to be the best we can make them.
"My firm hope is that these standards will not only be brought to bear for social housing, but that in the future other tenures may consider how they too might meet and exceed these expectations."
The proposed WHQS 2023 standards will be published for consultation from Wednesday May 11 and will be open for stakeholders to respond to for 12 weeks.
Commenting on the Welsh Government policy, the Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy – Janet Finch-Saunders MS – has spoken out in the Welsh Parliament today at the need for Julie James MS, Minister for Climate Change, Welsh Government, to take steps to ensure that tenants of social housing are aware of the standards their accommodation should achieve in line with the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.
Her comments came following a tenant survey which highlighted that:
- Only 53.6% of respondents agreed that their home is in a good condition;
- Only 60.3% agreed that their home met the specific requirements of their households;
- And 44% had never heard of the WHQS
Speaking after scrutinising the Minister for Climate Change, Mrs. Finch-Saunders said: “It is alarming that data points to the majority of tenants being unaware of the standard their social homes should be.
“It is equally worrying that there are examples of tenants waiting up to 10 years for repairs to be completed.
“There is cross-party consensus on the need to ensure that houses owned by associations and local authorities are in a good condition, and as such there needs to be positive and realistic cooperation between the Welsh Government and property owners.
“It is illogical that in Wales they have to change a kitchen every 15 years, yet the same kitchens from the same manufacturers in England require changing only every 20 years.
“Bathroom suites are similar at 25 years in Wales and 30 years in England. Should the Welsh Government take the same position as England, millions could be freed up to be spent on other areas of social homes such as decarbonisation”.
