Welsh government to create national construction company as part of Plaid Cymru co-operation agreement
A national construction company to support councils and housing associations is to be set up in Wales, according to a new “co-operation agreement” signed between Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru.
Details of an agreement between the Labour-led Welsh government and the nationalists, Plaid Cymru, were unveiled today and include plans to work together on a number of housing policies.
The three-year agreement includes plans to establish ‘Unnos’, a national construction company that will “support councils and social landlords to improve the supply of social and affordable housing”.
It also includes a pledge to publish a white paper that will include proposals for a right to adequate housing and will address what role rent control could play in making the private rented sector more affordable.
The parties will also commission advice to examine potential pathways to achieving net zero by 2035, rather than the current 2050 target.
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A publicly owned “net zero energy company”, to be named Ynni Cymru, will also be established over the next two years.
In May, Welsh Labour won 30 of the 60 seats in the Senedd, which is one short of an absolute majority. Plaid Cymru won 13 seats.
First minister Mark Drakeford said the agreement with Plaid Cymru will “help us secure a stable Senedd over the next three years, capable of delivering radical change and reform”.
The agreement includes plans to “significantly reform the current system of building safety” and introduce “a second phase of the Welsh Building Safety Fund”.
The parties will also work together to end homelessness, which will include reforming housing law and enacting the Renting Homes Act to give renters greater security.
“Immediate and radical action” will be taken to “address the proliferation of second homes and unaffordable housing”, including introducing a cap on the number of second and holiday homes, the agreement added.
Matt Kennedy, policy and public affairs manager at the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru, said: “We couldn’t be more pleased to see such a strong commitment to enshrining in law the right to adequate housing.”
“Focus and attention must now turn to the forthcoming Welsh government budget discussions, where a long-term funding commitment is needed if the ambition outlined in today’s agreement is to be met in practice,” he added.
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