Jennie Bibbings
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jenniebibs.bsky.social
Jennie Bibbings
@jenniebibs.bsky.social
Housing and homelessness senior researcher at Senedd / Welsh Parliament. PhD candidate in Ancient History at Swansea University. Mountain lover. Opinions my own. She/her.
Housing support is the main focus of this morning's meeting of the Senedd's Local Gov & Housing Committee @SeneddLGHousing

Cab Sec Jayne Bryant MS will be answering Qs about the Housing Support Grant and the drive to end homelessness.

Watch on senedd.tv 📺
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The Senedd is the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people, makes laws for Wales, agrees Welsh taxes and holds the Welsh Government to account.
Senedd.tv
March 19, 2025 at 7:55 AM
This Wednesday Senedd members will debate the Local Gov & Housing Committee report on how to increase social housing supply.

Ahead of the debate, I've written a piece summarising the report and the Welsh Gov's response:

tinyurl.com/bddr86r7
Wales’s housing crisis: the role of social housing supply
Wales is in the midst of a housing crisis and increasing the supply of social housing is essential to address it, according to the Senedd’s Local Government and Housing Committee.
tinyurl.com
February 3, 2025 at 11:54 AM
The Welsh Gov rejected a key recommendation in the @senedd.wales Local Gov & Housing Committee inquiry on social housing supply.

In this article, Chair John Griffiths MS explains why the Committee believes a Welsh development corporation would deliver more social homes:

tinyurl.com/ytf5hrrs
Lessons from the past for the future - WHQ
Welsh Government should look again at the case for a national development corporation, says John Griffiths MS. When I spoke at the Community Housing Cymru conference in November to launch our report o...
tinyurl.com
January 31, 2025 at 2:33 PM
The Welsh Government proposes to spend 4.9% of its total budget on housing and regen in 2025-26.

This was mentioned by John Griffiths MS, Chair of the Senedd Local Gov & Housing Committee, during this AM’s scrutiny session with the Cab Sec. If you missed it, catch up here:

tinyurl.com/yc8r4854
Agenda for Local Government and Housing Committee on Wednesday, 15 January 2025, 09.00 | Senedd
Senedd
tinyurl.com
January 15, 2025 at 1:32 PM

The Welsh Government has confirmed that it will explore enabling renters to keep the last 2 months' rent as compensation when facing a no-fault eviction.

Ahead of this Wednesday's plenary debate, I've written this article on the Local Gov & Housing Committee report:

tinyurl.com/4w9kmbpz
Rent levels, conditions, and evictions: the Welsh private rented sector
The Welsh Government has confirmed that it will explore enabling renters to keep the last two months of their rent as compensation when facing a no-fault eviction. The Senedd’s Local Government and Ho...
tinyurl.com
January 13, 2025 at 10:59 AM
My colleague Gwennan Hardy has written an excellent piece about the issue of pets in the private rented sector. Not a trivial matter! Actually has a huge impact on tenant wellbeing:

tinyurl.com/4z7prrbn
Lets for pets? Calls to tackle the lack of pet-friendly homes in the private rented sector
A lack of pet-friendly rental properties in the private sector is making it difficult for pet-owners to find a place to live, and forcing some to give up their beloved animals. This was a key finding...
tinyurl.com
January 8, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Interesting blog post by Prof Dave Cowan on what the Renters' Rights Bill means for Wales.

The Welsh Gov is using the Bill to outlaw discrimination against tenants with kids or claiming benefits. Senedd scrutiny is throwing up various issues, lucidly analysed here by Dave:

tinyurl.com/5h9hccf4
Renters Rights (or when renting discrimination becomes a constitutional issue)
Back in September 2024, Jayne Bryan (the Cabinet Secretary for Housing) laid a Legislative Consent Memorandum before the Senedd seeking consent for certain provisions of the Westminster government&…
tinyurl.com
December 13, 2024 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by Jennie Bibbings
I’ve had council planning officers tell me in #Wales that they haven’t been able to check if planning regs have been met. Be it our statutory SuDs, protected trees, sites, or biodiversity net gain delivered.

What kills #nature our divorce from it, austerity, wealth disparity, & growth economics.
Researchers at @sheffielduni looked at nearly 6,000 houses across 42 developments.

When they compared promises for wildlife-friendly features found in planning conditions with what was on the ground, they found that nearly half were missing.
2/8
December 12, 2024 at 9:08 AM
Best early Xmas present this morning - a follow from my number 1 childhood hero, @shakinstevens1.bsky.social !!

He's got a new album out (political content!) and working with the Salvation Army. Great to see Shaky fighting the good fight ✊
December 13, 2024 at 9:18 AM
1/4

I've written an article about rapid rehousing - explaining what it is, what progress has been made, and what will need to happen to make it a reality in Wales.

I'm often surprised at how many people in the housing sector don't really understand what rapid rehousing means.
December 4, 2024 at 10:38 AM
I must say I'm loving this new blog by Prof Dave Cowan at Cardiff University, on Welsh housing law and policy.

Today's post is a well-considered take on the new Senedd Local Government and Housing Committee report on social housing supply.

More please Dave :)

tinyurl.com/3yc96xdc
Social housing supply
A blog providing information about housing law and policy in Wales, written by expert commentators
tinyurl.com
November 29, 2024 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Jennie Bibbings
November 28, 2024 at 10:18 AM
Here's a piece in Inside Housing about the Local Government & Housing Committee's new report on social housing supply, by John Griffiths MS:

www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/the-...
The Welsh government must be more ambitious in its vision for social housing
A long-term approach is needed if we are ever to meet our social housing goals, writes John Griffiths, chair of the  Local Government and Housing Committee at Senedd
www.insidehousing.co.uk
November 28, 2024 at 9:58 AM
Having worked so hard on this over the last year, I am proud of the Committee's report on increasing social housing supply.

The quality of evidence to Committee was extremely high.

Wales needs a critical mass of social housing - at least 20%, ideally up to a third of stock.

tinyurl.com/246zrhh2
November 20, 2024 at 1:11 PM