 Wel bod y da croeso mawr i chi gyd diolch i chi gyd, sy'n am un o an i bod yma, thank you all for joining us this morning. So this is the second press conference the leader of Plaid Cymru and I have held since we signed the cooperation agreement at the end of last year. Today we will be offering an update on the radical programme of work. We will be undertaking as part of the agreement to ensure everyone is able to afford to live in their local community, whether that's buying or renting a home. We have a shared ambition for Wales to be a nation of thriving communities, a country where people do not have to leave in order to find good and rewarding work and a country where people want to come to visit and to live. Tourism we know is vital to our economy, but having too many holiday properties and second homes concentrated in particular areas, particularly when they are empty for much of the year, that does not make for healthy communities. It doesn't make for prices which are affordable to local people in that local housing market. Now this is much is clear there is no single or simple solution to these issues and any action we take we know must be fair. We are not about creating any unintended consequences which could destabilise the wider housing market or make it harder for people to rent or buy. Now as a result of all of this we have already started work to help ease the pressure on communities with large numbers of second homes. We are building 20,000 low carbon social homes for rent over the course of this Senate term and we are investing millions of pounds to bring empty homes back into use for social housing. We have introduced new powers already for councils to increase council tax premiums on second homes and we have changed the rules on holiday lets so owners and operators make a fair contribution to their local communities. The impact of these and other interventions will be properly tested in Duivod and this is the first pilot of its kind anywhere in the United Kingdom. Today we are setting out further details of our programme. It covers a wide range of policy areas and Adam is now going to begin to set out some of these in more detail. Rwy'n falch iawn o allu cyflwyno'r pekin o besyre bwriadus sydd wedi datblygu o gynlluniad i'r cydwithio adeiladol rwy'n blaid cymry ar Llywodraeth yn y maes hwn. Yn oeddiw roi i bawb yr hawl i fyw adra, sef y gallu i fyw agwithio yn y cymunedau lle cawsant a'i magu. As the premedel sent, by working together we have already secured the support of the Senate to increase the maximum level of council tax premiums local authorities can raise on second and empty homes from 100% to 300% from next April. We have also taken steps to close the loophole, as was referred to in the cooperation agreement, which allows second home owners not to pay tax on their properties. There are early indications that these changes are already making a practical difference on the ground by freeing up more homes for local people to rent or to buy. Today we are announcing the way forward in the package of measures that will together begin to address the injustices in our housing system and make a real difference to people and communities right across our nation. Mae'r maes cynllunio yn un maes lle nad i wii potential i'r rheoli'r systemau ddo wedi wyrraedd i ddim an. Mae'r level yr ymatebion i'r ymgynghoriad mil chwechad a fedwar o ymatebion i'n o'r i chad erioed o safbwy cynllunio yn hanes Llywodraeth Cymru yn dangos level y dydordeb cyhoeddus mewn creu newid. Gallwn i gyhoeddi hefyd, y byddwn yn symud y mae'n i gyflwyno trif ddospa'r defnydd cynllunio newid erbyn diwedd o'r had. Prif gatre, ail gatre, aletig willio, willio eitem o'r byr. Byddwn hefyd yn galluogi awdurdodau cynllunio lleol eich neud yn y fanol i gael cynllunio cynllunio er mwyn newid defnydd o un ddospa'r llas ac i'r rheoli defnydd datblygiadau tai newid yn well. Byddwn hefyd yn cyflwyno newidiadau i bolys i cynllunio cenedleithno, bydd yn caeni atau awdurdodau cynllunio lleol i'r rheoli nifer ar ail gatrefi a chatrefi willio mewn unrhyw gymuned. Bydd yn cynnwys y gallu ni osod cat o fewn ei hadalu. There has been an exponential growth in the short halladee lett sector in recent years. This is not unique to Wales. It was reported last week that the number of holiday wythes in England rose by half percentage in three years to 2021. Birthday lett is a common place in many of our residential areas. This can produce pressure on the availability, opposing for local people, creating challenges for the sustainability alike. Tynod ddweud ei weld. Ond ymddwch yn oes bryd yr unig serfanyddau a'r eu rhai yng Nghymru i'r cyfrifoeddol Cymru, ddiwedd yn ysgol Ferrariol. Fe ymddangosodd yr ymddangosodd yn eitha sicrhau'i'r craffwyr ac yn ystod gyda'r Cymru, yn eithaf i ddaf cael ei ddweud hefyd i ddaw ar effaith yn ysgol Ferrariol. mae'r cyfrifio ar gyfer fawr iawn i drefnodhau'r cyfrifiniol a'r gwahanol i'r cyfrifiniol. We will consult on the detailed policy proposals in the autumn. Mae cydweithio rŵng pleidiau ar angen i weithredi yn gyflim i geisio gwneud gwaith haniaeth ymarferol a chyflwyno datrysiadau ar unwaith i fethianes i ddweud i bodi ystegawdau yn y farchnad ddau yn gofyn am gyfadawd a frygmatiaeth. Mae angen cydnabod bod y newidiadau rydyn ni'n coeddi hefyddiw yn gamau sy'n mynd yr afael ar rai o symtome gweithaf y gyfynrym tai brysenol. O hyn ymlaen, mae angen i ni droi yn gyllegon yn gynyddo'l at y broblemau dyfnach strwythyrol gyda'r system tai ac eiddo. Felly, wrth gyflwyno'r pecyn hefyddiw, rai pwysleisio bod ymrwymiadau eraill y cydweithio, a papur gwyn ar ddedd ei ddo ar rent i teg yr ymrwymiad i greu cwmni a dylad i cenedlaethol unos i gyd yn allweddol i fynd i graedd yr argyfwng tai. A gallaf gyda'n hai, mae'n bod yn symud ymlaen gyda'r un mementum gyda'r gwaith yn i gyfan roedd at i hwnt i'r pecyn penodol hwn, a bydd y cyhoeddiadau pethach i ddilyn yn nesman y Lenni. The prefanido will now give you some further details about land transaction tax and local authority mortgages. Yes, thank you Adam. So, on to two final strands in this package of measures which we are announcing today. So we recently asked people for their views about making changes to land transaction tax. That's the tax paid when buying a house. Ieithi'r rhan o'r rhaid o cymdeithasol a rhaglen ghormarol, gyfo rhaid o'r höfnod y rhaid, sydd yn rhaid o'r rhaid o rhaid o rhaid o rhaid i, ac o'r rhaid o rhaid o'r rhaid, sy'n 3% o'r rhaglenful ff gaining o'r rhaid o'r rhaid o'r rhaid o rhaid o dda iawn o'r rhaglen ffnerd. Rhyw ddigon i'r holl ddweud geithungerau neu o'r prae o'r rhaid o rhaid o ddweud o rhaglen, yn y bwrth i'r rhai wnaeth am lleolau'r hardly ac y Lles. Mae'r angen iawn, yn y casgliad dedigol, rym ni'n ddegwydd apriaeth ym mhagafraeth. Rydyn ni'r ffawr yn ymgyrch â ymlaes hwnnw, i ddialog y rhaeg, a ddyrych â hynny sy'n gallu bwyd agnwysbwysbwyllol i gynhyrchu llyfrindu trefnwyr ..or unrhyw gyda bleidwyr i ni wahanol sy'n cyflym oedd y dweud. The Minister for Finance has written to all local authorities in Wales today so that work can begin on those proposals. Now some of these measures are about making access to the housing market fairer. Others are about in better balance between second homes and holedail lets in local communities. Ond we also want to do more to help local people on to the property ladder. The Welsh Language Housing Community's Plan, which will be published in September, will include proposals to give local people a fair chance in the housing market. In that context, we are investigating the possibility of reintroducing local authority morgiadau here in Wales, particularly aimed at first-time buyers. In the context of the cost of living crisis, backing from a local authority would help people access those mortgages with a smaller deposit and with greater affordability at the heart of those arrangements. Ddiolch gael gallw'n i chi gyd am randdol hefyd, will now turn as ever to take questions from journalists and over today to begin with to Catherine Harve-Jones at BBC Wales. Can I look at the strategy licensing scheme for short-term holiday lets? Just a bit more detail about how that will work exactly. Do you expect people might qualify for a licence? Will there be quotas in certain areas? Does that mean that people who are currently supporting their income and so on by doing this might not be able to in the future? But more detail about the thinking behind that please. Well we will draw on the statutory licensing scheme from the experience we have already with Rent Smart Wales. So we already have a system in Wales where all landlords have to be registered. They register with Rent Smart Wales and we're confident that this has helped already to raise standards for tenants and landlords and we expect a licensing scheme to do the same for the visitor economy and for visitor accommodation. The licensing scheme will help raise standards and it will further develop the tourism offer that we have here in Wales. And there's nothing unusual about this. These sort of schemes are very standard in the UK and further afield. Having committed to a statutory licensing scheme of course we will work with the sector in the way we do in Wales and there'll be detailed discussions with people who work in this field now over the coming weeks to make sure we design the licensing scheme in a way that rewards those best actors in the system. That's what the licensing system does. It makes sure that those people who do all the right things are not undercut or disadvantaged by people who maybe don't operate to the same standards and it will offer a guarantee to people coming to Wales that the accommodation they will be booking will be licensed by a public authority. So ni'n jyst yn tyni ar beth y ni wedi neud yn barod am y angymru y cynthyn sy'n ddani a i bobl sy'n a rhoi a tain i'r yntio yn y sector private. Ni'n tyni ar beth sy'n gyffredinol, ni'n jyst yn y dynasynedig ond dros y byd ac y purpas y cynllun yw i codi syfonau a anhymaeis ac i rhoi chader i bobl sy'n dod i Gymru bydd safon a beth mae'n nhw'n talu amdano bydd y safon hwnna an ywch ac allwn i gwybod os mae o rywun yn rhoi a peth emlang i rentu a dros yr hafer yng Ngryt bydd hwnna ar y restau gennydlaethol bydd ddani am y angymru. Ac y fel mae'r prif Weinidog yn eweddweud wrth gwrs i ni yn gallu tyni ar brofiad yn rongladol lle mae cynlluniau tebyg o reu leidio a gyfer y sector yma wedi cyflwyno a dros Europ, ydydygu'r ar dros y byd ac yn aml iawn er mwyn ymateb i'r un problemau i'n trafod hefiu lle mae'n ardal oedd sydd yn wineb i pwysau cynnyddol oherwydd o'r durysdiath sydd a gobl agiadau i'r farchnadau ac i cynnyllwdwyedd y Cymru'n edyn gyffredinol felly i ni'n gallu tyni hefyd ar y profiad y ni wrth i ni cyflwyno ar argymhellion draft, wrth gwrs byddwn ni'n ymgynghoru ar ni'n nhw, felly diddor, mynylion dych chi newydd godi nawr ac rai eres wrth gwrs yn gallu bod yn rhaid yr ymgynghoriad y ni wrth i ni ar y profiad o fewn cymru mewn sectorau eres fel yw'r Gweinidog nid o'n e wedi fydd yr ardal oedd a ni sydd wedi'i wneud yn union beth i ni'n bodi adeilu nhw. As the First Minister said, we are not just able to draw up on relevant experience from the regulatory framework for want of editor in adjacent sectors and context, but also we are able to draw up on the experience of other jurisdictions, other nations regions, localities across the world bod have introduced a statutory licensing scheme of the type that we are proposing. Many of them are not just addressing the issues in terms of quality of tourism accommodation, but also the pressures that this can, that all the tourism can represent in some communities of local housing affordability and the sustainability of communities, and so we will be able to draw upon that experience, however, nations, regions and localities have designed those licensing schemes and then obviously consult on the basis of detailed proposals in due course. And while we have you both there together, I wonder if I can ask you about Senedd reform. There is a lot of concern around the proposed voting system for a bigger Senedd agreed between yourselves that it's complex, there's a lack of personal link and accountability between elected members and the constituencies under the new system. Can I ask you both to explain why you think that this is the best system for electing Senedd members despite those concerns? And also specifically to you, First Minister, there have been calls for you to remain as Labour leader beyond the next Senedd election, Mark Drakeford, to see this all through. Will you now be staying on? Well, Diolch yn fawr, Catherine. So, I think both of the criticisms that you have mentioned actually don't stand up to examination. This is the simplest form of election. In the current system, you have to turn up at the polling booth, you have to vote twice. We know that many people are uncertain as to what the difference is between the first ballot paper they get and the second ballot paper they get. In the system that we have agreed for the 2026 elections, you will have one vote and you will go and cast it. I don't think it could be simpler for the citizen than the system that we have agreed on. And I think the constituency link issue is very much overstated. In fact, the regions that people vote on now will be smaller in the new system than they are currently, will be two parliamentary constituencies brought together. They will be more than one member representing that, but we're absolutely used to this in Wales. When I was first elected as a councillor on South Clamorgan County Council, I represented an area with five councillors, all representing it. And it is just perfectly possible in a practical way for people to organise the way they carry out their duties and for members of the public to know who they would choose to go to. So I think that the system that we have agreed between us offers simplicity, clarity for the voter, but also will give people a choice that in the area, if they would prefer to go to a particular person who represents them for whatever reason, they will be able to do that. And as I said on Saturday, it's flattering, of course, when people think that you should stay longer. All of this will be accomplished in this Senedd term. The detailed work of making sure that the agreement that we have struck and has been agreed to by both our parties is translated into a bill that will appear on the floor of the Senedd. That's work for this Senedd term, and I'm looking forward very much to getting stuck in with others to making sure that we make that happen in as effective a way as possible. So, just to give you an advice, I think it's important that a system that is new to the public and for us is to be clear to the public, dim on i'n blaidlais, bydda bobl mae cymlythdoedd yn fflain ar y system sydd anu a hyn o bryd. A pa mae'r bobl yn dweud, ni'n mynd i torri a perthannau syrwng bobl ti'n sefyd, a bobl ti'n blaidlaisio, dwi ddim yn cytuno dychynnau a hefyd. Ni'n profiadol dros ben yma anghymru i reduig system fel na dwi wedi cael a profiad yn personol pan oeddwn ni yn aelod o'r cangor de morganwg. Mae'n rhoi fwy o heblegroedd i bobl, a mae hwnna'n rhywbeth dda, ond mae'r system yn un glir i bobl diall hefyd ac yn personol, fel dwi wedi dweud, dwi'n mynd i bwrw mlaen, gyda'r gwaith caled sydd anu nawr i troi ac atindeb mewn i'r mynylion, sydd mynd i fod arwineb, a byl ni mynd i rhoi o flaen a senedd ond rhywbryd ar ôl hynny a bydd caf ble i rywun arall a gwaith dwi'n neud hefyd. Well, hynny'n lle cyntaf. Mae hwn yn gam anhygoel y bobl y teb i'n mynd i gymeru'n gweld gyda'n democratiaeth ni, mae claf i'r hyn system cyntaf i'r felun, first past the post, yn gyment o gam ymlaen. Gadi ni ddaeth i hwnna yng Nghymru, a bod ni'n symud i gadd system sydd a'r sael system o gynyrchio lefcaf ar tanlog yn llwyr. Be sydd gyda ni gyda'r cyntaf i felun, a dwi restre caedig gyda demon i'n enw ar y restr, dyna beth i ni'n cynnig ar unabryd ar gyfer fanstheffan, a dyna beth i ni'n cynnig ar y daidreu anwseddi ar unabryd yn Senedd Cymru, ac nawr i ni'n symud sydd i gadd system sydd a'r sael piar cant y cant. A nid yn unig hynny, ond hefyd sydd yn mynd i sicrhau yn bendant o herwydd yr unrhyw niad i kotau astadidol, balans rywedd fel bod yn Senedd ni yn gynyrch liadol, nid yn unig o rhan pleidiau o'r ond o rhan rywedd, a fel cam cyntaf diogel sicrhau cynrychioleth yn y restri hangart bosib. Felly dy gwybod ma'na diedd, gyda ni'n ymryeddrych ar y pethau ni'n angedu ni o gyda'n nhw, neu ddim coed yn mor gryf o'i plaid, ond gada ni ddathlu a cam bras ymlaen fynyn. Ie, wrth gwrs, ni ar y record yn ymlaen ni. Dyn ni'n i cymnogi STV, yn credu erosu i ddyn nhw coflaidio fenn yw'r uneth i werth o'n canlynedd hynny, a dyna fydd e'n egwyddorio ni, dyn ni wedi gweud hynny. Ond, wrth gwrs, mae rhaid derbyn pan eich hun cydwythio rŵl pleidiau mae rhaid cyfyddawdi er mwyn symud cymru ymlaen. Chyddyn ni'n mynd i gael cobolot mewn un cam, chyddyn ni'n mynd i gael popeth i chi môn, ond trwy cydwythio mae môl symud cymru i'r cyfeiriad positive. A gael i ni ddathlu y ni, achos mae yn wirio'n ei ddol cyfroes sydd yn y gweithio, beth i ni wedi medri cyflawn ni trwy cydwythio o rhan diwygion senedd. Let's celebrate, I think, the huge progress that we're going to make with our democracy here in Wales. We're getting rid of a completely unfair, outmoded system called First Pass the Post, which has a closed list of what, with only one candidate out on it, both the Westminster elections and the moment for two-thirds of the Senate elections. And we're replacing that with a system based on 100% of proportional representation. And so that is something that we should celebrate. Secondly, we're going to do it in a way which guarantees a Senate, which is not just representative in political terms, but also in social terms, by ensuring a 50-50 representation through a gender-balanced Senate. And also we are committed to exploring how we can ensure even wider representation. So I think there are huge benefits. We are on the record as a party historically and we remain committed to supporting SDV. I think we've probably supported it for 100 years since it was first introduced in the Republic of Ireland. But part of working together means accepting that you're not going to get everything that you want and we're not going to make, we're not going to achieve everything in one go necessarily. But let's celebrate the fact that we are going to make a huge step forward for our democracy, giving our currently under-powered Senate the tools and the capacity to do the job and making it a much more representative Senate than we've been able to be here or to. And let's celebrate those positives while obviously continuing the discussion and the democratic debate about how we can continue to improve our democracy further. Drow i Adrian Masters. Thank you both. Can I ask you about the possible, well it's whether it's an unintended consequence or the intended consequence of the measures that you've announced today. It will inevitably want it, deprive some people in those communities that you're trying to protect and will deprive them of their livelihoods. Is that inevitable and what are you doing to help them? Well Adrian, I don't probably agree with a basic premise. I was very careful to say and I heard Adam repeat it that we recognise the importance of tourism in many parts of Wales and in many, many parts of Wales. Second, sorry holiday lex are a very positive part of that local economy. The problem is is that if you're not careful you undermine the basis of that success because you over concentrate second home and holiday let ownership which means that the things that make those places attractive for people to visit no longer exist. You have villages where people don't live all year round. You have communities that don't operate as communities. Those are the reasons why people come and visit those parts of Wales. What we will do in a carefully calibrated way, giving local authorities the powers where there are problems to be solved but to focus them in that way. Not only will it I think make those communities stronger and sustain them into the future but in doing so we will also sustain the reasons why people come to Wales in the first place and you know the Welsh Government's policy for tourism is sustainable tourism not tourism that overwhelms the things that make it a success in the first place. Yeah and I think the dilemma that is at the heart of your question Adrian really is isn't the unique question for us in Wales isn't it? I mean even indeed it's something that other parts of the UK now are grappling with and you know even the Westminster Government has had to recognise the pressures that communities within England are also facing as a result of the same phenomenon so they're on the same trajectory though we are in advance of them considerably in terms of the impact of our proposals and it's something we see right across Europe isn't it you know so I think it's always about balance. Yes I think a vibrant tourism sector which is contributing positively to the local economy in a myriad of ways through employment and in other ways absolutely but that cannot be at the expense of the viability of those communities in where people can't live in their own community anymore then I think even people within the tourism sector would recognise that that is not sustainable in any sense and really that's what's driving these policies is a recognition that we have come to a point where we have to act to sustain and protect those communities otherwise as the First Minister said you know it will be impossible ultimately even to sustain the tourism sector because those communities won't be able to to have a future so I think clearly in everything you always want to get a strike a balance but here I believe we now have to act and act with urgency and with focus because we've reached a point where you know the communities in question I think you know they've reached a crisis point in terms of the availability of local housing and I think it's the right thing for the government of Wales together with Plaid Cymru supported to act in the way that we've described. And what about the other side of the equation the housing supply the Conservatives say that you're not addressing the supply problem with the same urgency they say that the Welsh Government's only building 6,000 homes a year and 12,000 needs need to be built. Well that would be to provide a very partial answer the supply side is really important I said in my original statement about the 20,000 affordable homes for social rent low carbon homes the highest standard of housing in Wales that we will build during the centre of term and that's the largest number that will ever have been built for that purpose in any centre of term but that is only one strand in what we are doing to increase the supply of housing. In the driven pilot area for example we have changed the rules on the home buy system to make it more available to people who live in those communities where housing is under pressure and we have seen already the first examples coming forward of that scheme now being used in that part of Wales and we are making major investments on bringing empty properties back into use. In the last financial year we provided £24.5 million to those local authorities in the areas where the housing pressures we just described are at their most acute to enable them to bring hundreds of homes back into use for local people so in Pembrokeshire for example one of the beneficiaries of that money nearly 100 homes previously used for military personnel no longer needed for that purpose but needing significant upgrading and improvement to make them permanent homes for local people nearly 100 homes as a result of that investment being made available locally. Now we are providing £60 million over the next three years for exactly that purpose together with £43 million for interest free loans to local government to bring those properties back into habitable use and that will be a circulating fund so as the money does the job it wants to and money begins to flow into local authorities through the rental income they will then be able to acquire then that money will recirculate to do that job for more properties and in the lives of more people in those local communities so I understand there's a job that the opposition party has to to carry out but this is a very very partial and incomplete account of the work that we have jointly agreed to carry out in order to increase the supply of affordable properties in those areas and I referred to Adrian didn't deny my remarks to the to the next phase of the work of the looking at the white paper which will be looking at the housing crisis more broadly throughout the whole of Wales not just in the communities that we've been principally focusing on today and also the work of ENOS the National Construction Company in doing precisely what was at the heart of your question which is accelerating the provision of affordable housing the question of supply simply building more houses is not an answer if those houses are not within the reach of local people so if we build houses which are too expensive for young people in their communities to buy then that isn't a partial answer and you know implicit in the conservatives position often is if we leave it in the market then everything will be fine well that that clearly has not worked it hasn't worked for generations and that's why the kind of approach which we presented here which is a deliberately interventionist one I think marks both our parties out from the kind of proposition which the Tory party represents which is if if government just gets out of the way leave it to the market then it'll solve all our housing problems well if we believe that then I'm afraid the housing crisis will not just persist it will accentive it and neither Plaid Cymru nor the Welsh government are prepared to allow that to happen and in that context I should have mentioned in my answer to Adrian one of the strands in the package we put together today which I'm very keen to see pursued so when I first came to Cardiff a very long time ago it was absolutely ordinary for someone to buy a house using a local authority mortgage from Cardiff City Council indeed back in the late 70s and early 80 16% of all properties bought by a mortgage across the United Kingdom came through local authority mortgages and they were very targeted they were targeted on first time buyers and they were targeted at people with affordability issues so whereas a typical bank or building society mortgage would be at 90% local authorities were able to offer 97% mortgages they were able to offer them over a longer term to make them more affordable now Mrs Thatcher arrived she passed the law they made it much more difficult for local authorities to do that and that system withered because as Adam said of an ideological belief that the private market is always better than public provision now I want us to revisit uh and to use the experience and more recent experience as well where local authorities were able temporarily to offer mortgages around the 2008 global financial crash I think there's something in that that we can revisit here in Wales in order to make the issue of supply and affordability to be tackled together sorry Adrienne I didn't mention that earlier uh over to Ruth thank you thank you over to Ruth Morzalski at Wales online hi both um you've answered three new planning classes um by the end of this summer at least can you give us a bit more detail on that is that going to be just new properties or existing ones is how will this cap that you're saying councils will be able to bring in work um and anyone that's dealt with the planning authority recently will know how big the queues are and the delays can be are you putting more money into councils so that these these planning authorities can actually deal with what I imagine would be quite a big influx of them applications so you're right Ruth that these are powers that are being provided to local authorities they will be for local authorities to decide whether or not they want to make use of them and we will and I know the minister Julie James responsible has already been discussing with one local authority provide some additional help in the initial stages to make sure that local government officers get familiar with what is required and the burden of proof that they would need to establish in order to make use of these powers so uh I don't expect myself that to be a permanent addition to local authority resources from the Welsh Government but we recognise that when there are new powers and you're having to do things for the first time then that will be more resource intensive and we're happy to think about offering local authorities some additional help while they are in that phase what will happen will be is that the local authority who believes that there is a particular area for them to define could be the whole local authority could be a subset of the local authority is under such pressure that when properties come on to the market they need to be treated in a different way to give local people a fair chance of acquiring those properties they will be able to use changes to the planning regime to give effect to that outcome now they will have to be able to demonstrate that those pressures are genuine because there's quite a high hurdle the councils have to pass in order to be able to um put themselves into the marketplace uh in that way but uh we're confident that we have the means of doing it that the powers necessary our powers of the Welsh Government holds that local authorities are the best place people to make those cases because these are circumstances that happen in sometimes quite distinct localities and it will become one of the strands I think you'll find that we've outlined at least eight different measures today that come together as a package to make the difference we want to make and in using this this strand in the package local authorities will need to assemble the evidence and then use the powers they will now have available to them and there are um there are two uh implications uh which flow uh really from this aren't there one is if a local authority does avail themselves of the facility that uh the first ministers referred to uh then uh by making it necessary for a uh a planning consent for to change use effectively to a second home from a primary residence that itself has a as a self-limiting uh limiting effect on the numbers of second homes within an area and the local authority could decide uh to set effectively a ceiling within the area of the cap uh in terms of the numbers of or proportion of uh of second homes within it within this area so this is a this is a very significant and in the context of the UK certainly a very path breaking uh development which I'm sure will be uh you know add considerably to the toolbox available to localities and local authorities in addressing the housing crisis that many of them are facing. Thanks Ruth uh we've got a hold on. Sorry First Minister just just to follow on from Catherine's question as well can you just clarify you there wasn't an explicit answer I don't think when Catherine asked you do you plan on staying on the First Minister? Did you answer that one for us? No there are no change to the plans Ruth that I announced originally back in 2018 when I stood for leadership of the labour party and which I have answered uh I should think with astonishing regularity uh ever since I'm sorry that the answer my plans haven't changed isn't particularly newsworthy uh but it remains the case today but thank you very much. Trawi Hallograffiff BBC. Ych y fawr Smyth, first question you've both mentioned this idea that there are too many holiday homes and second homes in parts of Wales sir how much is too much can you put a figure on it and by implication are there areas of northwest Wales where you think actually there aren't too many at the moment? I think it it obviously will be for local local authorities to to to themselves make an assessment of their current position but you know we have communities don't we where there are 40% of the of the homes which are currently holiday leto second homes and you know that is putting us up with some of the those areas of Europe that are you know amongst the highest levels of pressure from from second homes and so you know it's not sustainable to have uh that level of ownership of second homes based on the experience of communities right throughout throughout Europe but what we're doing here is giving local communities the right to decide whether they want to avail themselves of these power powers in order to create a situation where young people in those communities are able to stay in those communities where housing becomes affordable again for local young people and it's absolutely the right thing to do given the levels of of second homes that I refer to which you know are now happening in many many parts of the communities in question yet how it's because the issue on the ground is complex and varies that the we have put together a package of measures that are calibrated and can be deployed locally see in Cardiff for example the Cardiff economy uh revolves quite a lot around people who live in Cardiff during the working week and may go back to uh live elsewhere at the weekend in that sense the home that they have in Cardiff is an important part of that the way that local economy operates that is very different in some of the communities we've been talking about on the north and south west of Wales that's why many of these powers are powers available to local authorities that people closest to the ground best able to make an estimate even within the local authority circumstances will vary from one part to another and that's why offering you a blanket figure uh wouldn't make much sense they've got to be locally assessed and the powers that we have provided allows that local response then to be drawn together Diolch secondly you've spoken a lot about the supply of homes you've not really addressed the demand that there is for people particularly this time of year to make use of holiday homes and second homes is it the right thing to go and stay in a holiday home or a second home in north or west Wales and for transparency have either of you ever made use of a second home or a holiday let in north or west Wales? Well the answer to the second part of your question is yes definitely I was brought up going to Kiln Park in Tenby for our fortnight's holiday so quite certainly I have and over many years in in that way this is not an attack and do you still make use of a second home in Wales? I don't have a second home in the in the terms that we are talking about it today uh no uh but this is not in any case an attack on people who come to Wales the one was the very first thing I said in the press conference was to say that we go on welcoming people to Wales we want people to visit Wales we want people to come and be part of our visitor economy but we have ambitions for that economy which is to extend the season so that not everybody arrives in one six-week period to spread the impact of tourism as well there are so many fantastic places in Wales who don't have the level of visitors that are hot spots uh do so this is not at all never has been motivated by a belief that people shouldn't be coming to Wales it's about how we deal with people's wish to come to Wales in a way that doesn't undermine the reasons that they come here in the first place. Yes again you know it's about balance isn't it I mean yes of course I've stayed in hotels in better breakfast and yes in holiday lets in Wales as in other parts of the world as I'm sure you have as well it isn't about saying that that is wrong absolutely not it's about it's about getting balance for these communities and giving them the ability to secure a future for the community and for the young young people by making sure that communities aren't overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the numbers of second second homes you know you reach a tipping point don't you where people are priced out of the market completely and and where there is no sustainability and under those circumstances the right thing to do then is in a democratic society is for governments to intervene to restore balance to to to give those communities the basis the tools that they need in order to ensure that their local young people can afford to live and stay and work in their communities including working actually in a local tourism sector but a local tourism sector that is contributing positively in a balanced way including through holiday lets in and all the other different forms of accommodation but not reaching the point where it's overwhelming the simple ability of that of that community to to provide a future for its young people because its young people can't afford to to live there anymore. Halol, Diolch yn fawr. Over to Lee Jones at the National. I wanted to ask how the new measures work alongside legislation like the delayed Renting Homes Wales Act to ensure affordability in the rental market throughout Wales beyond tourist areas and will rent caps be a consideration? Well I think you've heard Adam say already that these measures have to be seen in the wider context of the measures that we are taking to make private sector rented properties particularly of a better standard and to address affordability issues there too. The implementation of the Renting Homes Wales Act will be the most significant set of changes made in that field during the history of devolution so yes everything that we've said today has to be seen against that wider backcloth and then Adam has already referred to further actions to which we are committed in knows the company that we are committed to developing and the further white paper that we will bring about so Lee you are quite right to point to the fact that there is a wider context beyond the focus of today which is about those short term holiday lets and the wider availability of good standard properties for rent that people then use as their long term accommodation. Yeah no thanks for your question Lee and you know completely right I think to underline that the announcements that we've made today are part of a much bigger context and you know the broad context really is that there are no market solutions to the housing crisis it's it's it's leaving things to the market and deregulating housing that has produced the crisis and so those broader questions are going to be at the heart of the white paper and so that in the corporation agreement we've already flagged up that issues around the question of rent control of intervening in the private rental sector I think these are absolutely key questions when we see even before the current cost of living crisis but even more so now with the very very high increases that we're seeing in in private rent levels with Wales seeing some of the highest in increases in the UK we've I think that's a discussion that we need to have and we will be having in the context of the white paper and these broader questions about how we respond nationally not just in communities that are facing the crisis of second homes housing crisis is a national crisis it presents itself in in different ways in different communities but essentially it is it is a is a connected crisis the solutions aren't going to come from them the market and therefore we need to show leadership at a at a national level and we're committed to focusing on some of those broader questions and introducing the same kind of radicalism that have been a part of the proposals that we've set out today by Hugh Lee and Prif Weinidog you mentioned earlier that you don't have any second homes in the terms that we're talking about today are you able to expand on which context you do own additional properties and in the interest of fairness the same question for you as well Mr Price yes of course so under the terms of the existing legislation and the legislation we have today it's not counted as a second home if you have somewhere that you can't occupy the year round people will be very familiar listening to this you know if you've got a caravan you can occupy it between march and october and then you can't occupy it the rest of the year I have had or family has had I think it'll be 27 years this year a chalet in Pembrokeshire which is operated on the same terms you can occupy some of the year and then you can't the rest of the year so when we say that local authorities can charge a premium on second homes those sorts of properties that you can't occupy all year round have always been exempt from that regime and nothing that we are proposing today would alter that so under the terms that have we discussed today I don't have anywhere but I'm very pleased to say that I have got somewhere where I'm able to go and was there this weekend and hope to be there quite a bit more over this summer unlike the First Minister obviously I don't represent a cardiff constituency so I live and work in two places and I have a house in my constituency and I also have a house here in Cardiff I look forward to streamlining my life when I leave politics but as long as I live and work in two places then I will have those two homes. Ar amdiwch yn fawr, and finally for today to Tom Magner at Carersworld Alliance. Thank you very much indeed First Minister. Can I take you on to the subject of health? Excuse me. Some five months ago you committed 4.5 million pounds to investigate and learn from hospital-acquired COVID infections in Wales starting with sending 13,000 letters out to people affected. These were due to go out last month. Have they gone out and given that COVID is on the rise again doesn't waiting five months to get started amount to COVID complacency? Well first of all Tom is an important point you make about the rise of coronavirus again here in Wales. The numbers are significant and the impact on our hospital sector is now once again very real with a rapid rise of people in a hospital bed and indeed rises in the number of people in critical care as well. And part of that does explain why it does take time to do things because the health service has been under sustained pressure over the whole of the time since that money was made available. We are asking it to do an enormous amount in the here and now with people who need treatment today. And while I know local authorities have been increasing the resources that they've got available improving the systems that they've got to look retrospectively at those really important cases they also have to focus on people who need treatment here today. And there's a balance to be struck there as well and it does take time for recruitment to happen and for systems to be put in place. The letters are sent out by those local health boards not by the Welsh Government and certainly not by me so I'm afraid I don't have in my head the extent to which they have been issued. But it will remain a very important part of the additional work that we need to do in Wales to make sure that people who are looking for answers as to what happened in their own cases or the cases of people who were close to them that they get better answers and more consistent answers to those questions wherever they live in Wales. It's probably not a question for Adam because it was a question for the Welsh Government. Happy for Adam Price to join in on that before hours by second if he's something you'd like to say. Well obviously the question of Wales only COVID inquiry is a point of difference between my party and the Welsh Government. Just following some discussion I think over the weekend we just approved that just because we agree in many many imported areas doesn't mean that we don't still have important disagreements and you know it's still our view that you know the important questions that you raise would be better addressed through having a Wales specific COVID inquiry and that we've yet to hear anything which has persuaded us at the ones. Thank you for that. This second question is definitely for both of you. Doesn't all this issue, even accepting staff shortages, doesn't this raise doubts over trust in the Welsh Government with by all accounts in a wider picture infections in NHS hospitals in Wales seemingly out of control according to some people? In light of that I stand to be corrected but why doesn't such a critical health issue not appear front and centre of your cooperation agreement? Well first of all Tom the idea that infections are out of control in Welsh hospitals simply doesn't reflect the reality. Coronavirus has been out of control in the community at various points with very very rapid rises and we're seeing another upswing because of Omicron 2.4 2.5 and so on and you know as night follows day when there are rising levels of coronavirus transmission in the community this is a virus that then gets into all those other places where we work so hard to try to keep it at bay whether that's care homes or hospitals or prisons or any other closed setting but every day the health service works incredibly hard to try to make sure that it does everything it can to deal with that incoming tide and to respond to it with all the things that the health service has learned over many years in dealing with acquired infections so the you know this is not a say that this is easy that this is not a say that we are able to turn back the tide in a commute like way but that notion that the health service doesn't work incredibly hard in order to be able to do that. I was speaking to a nurse just this weekend who's back wearing masks and other protective equipment over a 12 hour shift she was telling me she said it's the right thing to do because of the rising numbers and we know we have to do it but you know those are really difficult working conditions and I really think once in a while we should just stand back and give some credit to people who work so hard to try to keep people safe in that hospital setting and you know this is an agreement a cooperation agreement over 47 different topics that we worked hard to thrash out between us as Adam said you know we don't agree on everything and the cooperation agreement are those things to which we are jointly committed and want to achieve together over this end of term. Yes I mean I think clearly we had very very wide ranging discussions Tom in arriving at these areas where we were able to where it was possible for us to come to agreement I don't think you would expect me to betray the confidence of those negotiations in referring to areas where we weren't able to come to agreement but ultimately you know the process is is that you have to ultimately focus on the common ground where it is possible to make progress for the people of Wales because you're able to identify those areas where you share a vision and a set of a set of policies and just because you're not able to agree on everything doesn't mean that should stop you agreeing in those areas where you are able to make progress so by its very nature you know the agreement wasn't going to cover everything where there still remains legitimate though I make no apology for the fact that we have civil disagreements maybe some people would like me to be angry and aggressive I don't think that does politics any good we can have civil respectful disagreement in the area that I just referred to and in other areas and we will continue to work together in the areas of the cooperation agreement and we'll continue to have legitimate disagreement in those other areas as well and we'll continue to scrutinise the Welsh Government appropriately and I look forward Tom I think you and I are having a conversation you asked me in the last press conference whether we did so there we are politician that keeps a promise Tom and I just like to pay tribute because I have an experience in referring to the COVID framework that you know my the care home that looks after my father you know incredibly impressed by the work that they've they've put in place not just in terms of preventing COVID infection but you know more generally in the care that they provided for my father but I look forward to discussing these and other issues with you Tom and Tom thank you very much as ever thank you for being here this morning