RHUN AP IORWERTH fielded questions on housing shortages, the Armed Forces, and the Nation of Sanctuary as he returned for his third First Minister’s Questions today.
The First Minister defended his new government’s work so far as he faced Senedd colleagues in the Siambr.
The First Minister clashed once again with opposition leader Dan Thomas, this time over the causes of the housing shortage.
Reform’s Welsh leader quizzed his Plaid Cymru counterpart on how the government planned to address Wales’ housing problems.
Mr Thomas said: “It is a fact that a lack of house building and uncontrolled immigration has led to a housing shortage across the UK.”
He welcomed Plaid’s promise to deliver 20,000 new homes by 2030 but said: “To deliver at that scale, we’re going to need radical reform of the planning system, we’re going to need ministerial intervention when councils do not deliver the number of homes that their communities need, and we need government and local government to work in partnership with house builders to leverage the billions of pounds that are needed to deliver 20,000 new homes.”
Acknowledging the “very real” housing problems found across Wales, Mr ap Iorwerth insisted these shortages are not driven by immigration.
He accused Mr Thomas of attempting to “create division”, arguing the government must focus on “practical solutions to the practical problem that we face”.
Mr Thomas said nobody is “blaming immigrants” but instead are “blaming uncontrolled and unplanned immigration”, which he described as having a “ripple effect” across the UK.
The opposition leader also questioned the First Minister on houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) which he described as a “big problem” across Wales, suggesting this too was caused, in part, by “uncontrolled immigration”.
Mr Thomas said HMOs are “changing the character” of streets across Wales and said: “Large companies are buying up family homes and turning them into HMOs, and people are not happy with this.”
Describing Mr Thomas as “again seeking to blame”, the First Minister said: “The leader of the opposition says he’s not blaming immigrants whilst then progressing to blame immigrants for the situation.
“He will have to forgive me for always focusing on the practical answers that are needed to the very real problems that we face, and that is a lack of social housing, which is why this government is getting on with building more social housing.”
The First Minister also clashed with another Reform member – Caerdydd Penarth MS Joe Martin.
Mr Martin questioned Mr ap Iorwerth about the “potential risks to public safety” due to the Nation of Sanctuary scheme.
The scheme, introduced in 2019, sets out how the Welsh Government can support refugees and asylum seekers in Wales.
It includes, but is not limited to: making sure refugees can find new accommodation when they leave asylum accommodation; helping refugee or asylum seeker survivors of domestic abuse to get support; and promoting an understanding of Welsh culture and heritage amongst asylum seekers.
Mr Martin said defenders of the scheme would say that it has primarily been used to support Ukrainian refugees but then added he did not know why it was “necessary” to spend additional money “over and above” what Westminster already spends to help Ukrainian families.
Mr Martin continued: “You won’t find anyone seriously contending that they’re the reason the scheme should be scrapped.
“But that’s because, so far, there have been zero instances of Ukrainian refugees trying to behead people in the streets. The same cannot be said for Sudanese asylum seekers.”
His comments were met with with disapproval from members from other parties.
Noting that it seemed the Siambr would “have to get used to this kind of contribution”, the First Minister accused Mr Martin of attempting “to drive wedges between communities”.
He said: “The Nation of Sanctuary policy did house mostly Ukrainian refugees.
“I understand the difficulty that the member has in addressing that issue given the fact that the former leader of Reform in Wales [Nathan Gill] is currently serving a lengthy jail term for taking money from the Russians, and one of the first calls made by their finance spokesperson was to tear down the Ukraine flag flying outside our Senedd.
“Let’s focus here on what unites us. Let’s focus on the leadership that’s incumbent on all of us to show in order to create cohesion between communities.”
The First Minister also noted that June 16 marks the tenth anniversary of the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox. Mr ap Iorwerth said the Senedd’s focus should be on “finding ways of getting over divisions rather than trying to create them”.
Interim Labour leader, Ken Skates, pressed the First Minister on finances, referring to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies which, prior to the election, said Plaid Cymru’s promises would require tax increases or cuts to services.
Mr Skates called on the First Minister to share if the Institute was right and, if necessary, to share what cuts will be made.
Pledging to “roll [their] sleeves up”, Mr ap Iorweth said his government will find “innovative ways” to “deliver what the people of Wales said they wanted us to.”
He also drew attention to the £55 million announced on June 16 to start delivering Plaid’s childcare offer across Wales.
Mr ap Iorwerth added: “We did more in 27 days as a government than the previous Labour administration did in 27 years.”
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar, pressed Mr ap Iorwerth on whether he agreed that a strong defence industry in Wales is “essential” to the economy in a time when “war has returned to Europe”.
Mr Millar also called on the First Minister to pay tribute to the Armed Forces and the Welsh workers who provide them with the resources they need.
Revealing one of his first visits as First Minister was to see Rhondda-based Valley Veterans, Mr ap Iorwerth agreed with the Conservative leader noting the “very important part” the defence sector plays within the Welsh economy.
He added: “I absolutely understand that the changing face of international threats means that we need to make sure that we have the conventional forces in place that are able to stand up to that.
“At the same time, this is a government that will make sure that the ethical engagement around defence is as strong as it can possibly be. I think those are the kinds of assurances that the people of Wales want.”
