, Cabinet Secretary for
Housing and Local Government: I am pleased to update Members of
the Senedd that I have just approved a business case to undertake
a Welsh Housing Survey in 2027-28.
The last survey – a national housing conditions survey, was
delivered in 2017-18 and I know many stakeholders, including
members of the Housing and Local Government Committee, have been
calling for a further survey to provide an updated evidence base.
Whilst administrative data such as Energy Performance Certificate
and Council tax data are increasingly being used for analytical
purposes, this data alone is not currently able to meet our
evidence requirements, and a periodic housing survey is still
required.
Following development of a detailed Business Justification Case,
that assessed available options for delivering a survey, I have
decided to commission a full Welsh Housing Survey. This
will be more detailed than the survey delivered in 2017-18 and is
broadly comparable to the English Housing Survey. It will
comprise two parts: a detailed social survey to gather household
information required for fuel poverty analysis (such as income),
as well as housing experiences and views; and a physical home
inspection carried out by a qualified surveyor to gather
information on the fabric and condition of the home.
I believe this approach will provide a wider breadth of evidence
to more effectively inform policy development and implementation
than a housing conditions survey alone. As well as providing
detailed information on fuel poverty, energy performance of homes
and housing quality across all tenures, it will also enable the
gathering of evidence to better support affordable housing,
second homes and homelessness policies.
Following this decision, my officials through engagement with key
stakeholders, will develop a detailed tender specification so
that a procurement exercise can commence by the end of 2025-26.
This will enable field work to be carried out in 2027-28, with
headline results available from 2028-29, and more detailed
findings from 2029-30.
I will be happy to keep Members of the Senedd updated on this
work as it progresses.
