20,000 homes target will be reached by end of 2026, says Cabinet Secretary
Jayne Bryant MS, the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, said last week that by working in partnership with housing associations, Welsh Government is “on track to deliver over 18,500 additional low carbon homes for rent in the social sector by the end of this Senedd term”, reaching the 200,000 target by the end of 2026.
In her speech at our Annual Conference, the Cabinet Secretary highlighted that “this represents the highest sustained delivery of social housing in Wales in nearly two decades”.
But how will the Senedd Elections and the potential change in the political landscape in Wales impact the long-term delivery of social housing?
Opening the conference, our Chief Executive Stuart Ropke noted that “for the first time in decades, there is a genuine question over who will lead the next Welsh government”.
At a crucial time for Wales and the sector, Stuart urged political parties to “put housing at the heart of Wales’ future” and focus on building more homes, better homes, and healthier and fairer places.
He stressed that what Wales needs is a “bold and deliverable” plan to end the nation’s housing emergency.
“Our proposal is that the next Welsh government should set out a roadmap to deliver an additional 60,000 affordable homes over the next ten years, so that 20% of all homes in Wales are affordable,” he added.
Leading through change
To achieve this ambition at a time of significant political, economic, social and cultural shifts, the housing sector needs leaders that are able to navigate change effectively.
Pip Gwynn from Insight HRC joined the Annual Conference to explore how a changing world creates the space to be agile and try new approaches to leadership. She encouraged them to look at leadership through the lens of four key qualities: self awareness, resonance, vision and resilience.
Beacon Cymru and Vanguard Wales highlighted the importance of systems thinking and explored how it provides a powerful leadership approach to navigate the complexities of any major organisational change.
Focusing on the practicalities, Louise Price from Hugh James looked at how to manage organisational change effectively while staying compliant with evolving employment law, managing risk while maintaining fairness, transparency and trust and building a proactive and legally sound approach to people management.
Technology, misinformation and trust
Technology was another of the key themes of this year’s conference.
Jon Cocker, Chief Information Officer at Platform Housing Group, brought the ever-present AI conversation into focus by inviting attendees to reflect on the practical applications for housing associations now and in the medium term, from AI-power chatbots to predictive analytics for repairs and tenancy support. He also spoke of the need for an ethical framework that allows us to safely explore what the future of intelligent, people-centered housing could look like.
The ubiquitous use of technology and social media comes with the challenge of misinformation, which erodes trust and affects the way housing associations interact with their tenants.
Catherine Evans, Head of Communications at Trivallis, shared the organisation’s approach to dealing with misinformation sensitively and joined a panel that explored how to build real, sustainable trust.
“Whilst good communication, honesty and transparency are important, customer service has to be right or we destroy trust”, said Catherine.
Leah Morantz, who leads communications at Public Health Wales, added that trust is all about meeting expectations, whether it’s digitally or face to face.
Also speaking about technology and misinformation, Carl Miller, co-founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM) at Demos, left us with a positive message and an invitation: “It is possible to protect ourselves and become more resilient to information warfare”.
“Information warfare targets division and outrage…the antidote is creating a consensus seeking environment instead”, said Carl, highlighting that there are huge opportunities for housing associations around digital democracy. “Lots of people are building all these new powerful ways for organisations to listen and gather consensus”.
The impact of housing
And speaking of listening to people, David Wilton, CEO of TPAS Cymru, joined us to share the real-world concerns, priorities, and experiences of tenants across Wales today.
The real-world impacts of the housing crisis on people and communities was also the focus of an incisive conversation between CHC’s Deputy CEO, Clarissa Corbisiero, and journalist Vicky Spratt: “It blows my mind that something as serious as whether someone had somewhere to stay that night could be left until the day. We cannot be in this situation in one of the wealthiest economies in the world”, said Vicky.
She added: “Politicians keep saying we need to get people out of temporary accommodation - so. just. get. them. Out.”
The journalist gave delegates a powerful reminder of the positive impact of good housing that echoed throughout the rest of the conference: “If somebody has a secure home, anything is possible”.
