Jayne Bryant MS, 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 Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ 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 Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ 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.