Sian Gwenllian MS is supporting a call to build more social housing.

A Senedd committee, which the Arfon MS is a member of, released a report calling for more social housing.

The Local Government and Housing Committee’s latest inquiry calls for the creation of a national development corporation to speed up housebuilding by buying land and planning housing across Wales.

The committee’s report finds local authorities and housing associations will struggle to build the number of houses required and that part of the solution is a new development corporation.

Evidence to the committee showed that countries such as Denmark and Canada use development corporations and that Wales should aim to learn from these successful examples.

The committee is calling on the Welsh Government to increase the amount spent on social housing to build 60,000 more homes, with the ultimate aim that 20% of Wales’ housing stock falls into this category, up from 16%.

The report also says that the Development Bank of Wales should become a direct funder of social housing developments, potentially offering more favourable terms to those currently offered to social landlords by private investors.

The Development Bank of Wales is a body funded by the Welsh Government which finances businesses to help them grow in Wales.

Social housing, which is provided by local authorities and housing associations, has long waiting lists for people needing different types of accommodation. The committee heard from tenants that the type of properties available are often not the sort needed.

Many of the properties available through social housing are two or three bedroomed homes, which are prioritised for families, meaning that people needing one-bedroom properties are stuck on waiting lists for longer.

The committee is urging the Welsh Government to work with local authorities and housing associations to make sure that enough one-bedroom homes are being built to reduce the pressure on waiting lists.

The Welsh Government has a long-standing target to build 20,000 new homes by 2026 to ease the housing crisis in Wales. The committee supports this goal but is concerned the target will not be met, and even if it is, it will not be sufficient to address demand.

Sian Gwenllian said the report “shows that the Welsh Government has a long way to go if they are to reach their target of 20,000 new homes by 2026”.

“A crucial part of delivering this is ensuring there is a suitable mix of homes being built which must include more one-bedroom properties. The Welsh Government must work with local authorities and housing associations to make sure that this message gets through.

“The Welsh Government needs to look at all the options at its disposal to tackle this problem. Empowering the Development Bank of Wales to become a direct funder of social housing developments is one way to boost the number of homes being built.

“If we want to get to grips with the housing crisis then we have to build more social housing urgently - before the waiting lists get even longer.”