Agenda item

To consider the report.

To accept the report, noting the observations received during the discussion.

 

The report was presented by the Head of Housing and Property Department and the Senior Executive Officer. They referred briefly to the following main points:

 

It was reported that over 11,300 local individuals had received help and support in various ways as a result of the Department's Housing Action Plan. It was noted that this support included grants, Council tax exemptions to renovate empty houses, loans through the Homebuy Scheme, supported accommodation via homelessness schemes or grants to make adaptations to the houses of disabled individuals, so that they could continue to live at home independently.

 

Attention was drawn to the Empty Homes Scheme, which addressed bringing homes back into use by supporting owners to bring houses to an acceptable living standard whilst also keeping residents in their communities. It was noted that 128 grants had been given to buyers with a local connection to the houses, emphasising that the total number of houses coming back into use was 321. It was emphasised that several people taking advantage of this scheme were local first-time buyers, and the Scheme allowed them to stay in their communities.

 

It was explained that an impact assessment on equality characteristics, the Welsh language and the Socio-Economic duty was being completed on the Housing Action Plan. Pride was expressed as the Plan was having a positive impact on every equality characteristic and the Welsh language as it increased the number and range of houses within the County for the needs of various communities. It was elaborated that the Plan was having a positive impact on the Welsh language as it helped a high percentage of Gwynedd residents, who had been priced out of the housing market, to have access to affordable homes, loans, grants or tax relief. It was reported that the data gathered by estate agents confirm that an average of 95% of new social housing estate residents can speak Welsh. It was elaborated that these estates include 26% more Welsh speakers than the electoral ward where it is located, and 31% higher than the percentage of Welsh speakers in the County.

 

Reference was made to plans which addressed the increase of housing supply for local people and to assist individuals to deal with the cost-of-energy crisis and fuel poverty.

 

Looking ahead to the 2026/27 financial year, it was noted that the Department wished to update the Welsh language impact assessment in the Common Housing Allocation Policy, as a result of new legislation that comes into force in the Homelessness field, in line with the Welsh Government's timeframe to publish that legislation. It was also explained that the department intended to take every opportunity to assist the local people of Gwynedd to access affordable homes and continue to receive data on the linguistic ability of new tenants on social housing estates.

 

Pride was expressed that the new on-line portal was being completed by an external company to give individuals access to application forms for social housing or updates on live applications, on-line, for the first time ever. It was emphasised that this portal was convenient for anyone who wished to fill-in an on-line form or needed information outside normal working hours. It was emphasised that discussions were being held regularly with the company to ensure that this portal was available completely bilingually. It was noted that paper and phone processes continued to be available to anyone who did not have access or was uncomfortable to complete on-line forms.

 

An update was provided that the Department had procured a new system in November 2025 to extract data on individuals' language choice, for the purpose of being able to contact people. It was explained that this data could not be extracted from the previous system. Details were provided that 855 Housing Options applicants had asked the Department to correspond in Welsh, and 805 had asked for English correspondence. Similarly, it was noted that 95 individuals who had contacted the Homelessness unit had asked for correspondence through the medium of Welsh, 254 in English and 2 in another language. It was emphasised that any initial correspondence was sent bilingually, with the Welsh language first, in an attempt to encourage and promote the use of the language when possible. It was ensured that this was also the case about information that was shared on social media and all other forms of correspondence used by the Department.

 

It was reported that 95.8% of Department staff had received a language self-assessment or an assessment from their line manager, up to December 2025. It was confirmed that 95.6% of these reached the Language Designations of their jobs.

 

It was mentioned that the Department had received acknowledgement and praise from the Language Commissioner's Office in relation to the Housing Allocation Policy. It was explained that the Commissioner was glad to see that the Policy placed strong emphasis on local connection at Gwynedd level and community level, as it was a way of assisting to strengthen the Welsh language, with evidence to support that. Pride was expressed that the Department's Housing Allocation Policy was considered as good practice for other authorities to emulate, confirming that the Commissioner was preparing a blog that would be published on their website soon to detail the issue.

 

During the discussion, the following observations were made: 

 

In response to an enquiry about guidelines to be followed to fill empty social housing after their owners left, the Head of Housing and Property Department confirmed that this was the responsibility of the housing associations and that it did not fall under the Department's function.

 

The Department was congratulated on the work they did to ensure that local residents had local homes. However, it was noted that around a third of Gwynedd communities could not speak Welsh and therefore a local individual did not necessarily mean that it was an individual with Welsh language skills. It was asked why the Department did not ask individuals whether they were able to speak Welsh as a part of the implementation of the Housing Action Plan. In response, the Head of Department explained that the Department had to adhere to the statutory housing allocation rules. It was reiterated that the questions being asked by the Department had to be specific for the housing need, emphasising that the language did not affect your housing needs and therefore applicants could not be asked that question. However, it was confirmed that housing associations could ask about individuals' linguistic skills as the house had already been let by then and no response provided by the individuals would affect tenants.

 

A request was made that housing associations provided more details in their data to confirm how many adults in their houses were able to speak Welsh, as well as how many children who were able to speak Welsh, to obtain a full picture.

 

In response to a request for an update of the legal advice the Department received as guidance to include a linguistic condition as a part of the process of allocating social housing, the Head of Housing and Property Department noted that the Cabinet Member had already provided an update at a Cabinet meeting. It was noted that the link to watch that discussion would be shared with Members.

 

In response to an enquiry on how the Department adapted the Welsh language equality impact assessment, the Head of Department reported that a public assessment was being done in collaboration with the Department's partners, following advice from the Welsh Language Commissioner to do so. It was emphasised that this assessment was a full assessment of the Housing Allocation Policy that would be completed whilst the amendments were made to the policy. It was confirmed that Members would have an opportunity to submit their views and comments as a part of the consultation on that policy. In response to a further enquiry, it was believed that the Housing Allocation Policy protected the Welsh language and that there was a need to ensure that any changes to it complied with all legislation, whilst also being firm and positive when protecting the Welsh language.

 

The plans in the pipeline to bring empty houses back into use were detailed, and the Department was asked whether they were of the opinion that approving 128 was equivalent to the need, was more than what was expected, or whether they expected the demand for this plan to be higher. It was also asked whether they had received any feedback from the individuals who had benefited from the plan. Reference was made to changes to the plan, which enabled all types of house buyers to benefit from it, asking whether a high proportion of the grants had been approved to landlords. In response to the considerations, the Head of Department confirmed that no complaints had come to hand for this plan, and anyone who wished to provide feedback was encouraged to do so. It was noted that a financial bid had been submitted by the Department to fund the jobs of additional empty homes officers because an increase had been seen in the number of applications. Similarly, it was explained that an additional 3 officers had been appointed to assist with enforcement matters which related to empty houses which caused difficulties within communities, explaining that one of the empty homes officers collaborated with the enforcement officers to bridge the provision. It was reported that only the people who went to live in the houses after they were brought back into use were eligible for this plan, confirming that landlords were not eligible as a result. It was also mentioned that the Department had asked for a proportion of the increase seen in council tax had been earmarked to a new plan that would bring empty houses back into use to help with the homelessness situation within the county.

 

In response to an enquiry, the Head of Department confirmed that all correspondence was in line with the Council's Language Policy. It was reported that the first correspondence was sent bilingually, with all other further correspondence sent in the individual's chosen language, except for any statutory correspondence. It was confirmed that the Department did not ask individuals again about their chosen language for correspondence after the first time, in line with the implementation of the Language Policy.

 

Attention was drawn to the fact that a vast number of homeless individuals wished to receive correspondence in English, and it was asked whether this was because many of these individuals derived from areas outside the county. In response, the Head of Department reported that there was no link between the correspondence figures and where the homeless individuals derived from. It was noted that the majority of homeless people in the county derived from Gwynedd, with a small percentage having come to the county to escape from domestic abuse, and there was a statutory duty on the Department to look after them.

 

The members expressed their thanks for the report.

 

RESOLVED

 

To accept the report, noting the observations received during the discussion.