English: Can I welcome the Minister's statement? We have many people who are homeless and living on the street. Minister, we saw several of them after leaving St Mary's Church in December after attending a concert for the homeless charity Crisis. However, we have far, far more people who are sofa surfing, living in overcrowded accommodation, and others living in homes that are cold and damp, being neither wind nor waterproof. I agree with the Minister that we have insufficient social housing. Does the Minister agree with me that we need substantially more council housing built, at the 1950s and 1960s level? And we must also remember that in the 1950s and 1960s they used precast reinforced concrete in order to create part of them off-site. We also know, of course, that they brought in the Parker Morris standard, which produced a very high standard for social housing. Is the Minister interested in creating such a standard again, not necessarily Parker Morris, because that was of its time, but certainly a standard that all social landlords - housing associations and councils - have to build to? The 1950s and 1960s also saw a huge increase in council house building. What that did was it released low-cost housing that was previously privately rented for owner occupation. The problem for our people on relatively low wages to buy a house now is all those houses that are suitable for them have all been snapped up by landlords for £50,000, £60,000 in parts of my constituency, and rented out for £400, £500 a month. Sixty-thousand pounds, a £6,000 a year return - financially, for those who are doing it, it's very good. But what it's done is it's stopping people who would have otherwise, on relatively normal wages, been able to buy a house in maybe Hafod or Landore or Plasmarl or St Thomas and now are unable to do it because landlords are snapping them up in large numbers. So, if we increase council housing, won't that increase owner occupation, because the houses that are currently privately rented will then become back into owner occupation? If I just finish with this, the place that I come from is Plasmarl - it's gone through the whole stages, and other people have probably lived in areas very similar. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was almost all privately rented. Then, in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s it became owner occupied almost exclusively. And then, from the 1990s onwards, it's been bought up by landlords - some of them living many, many miles away. There's somebody living in Basingstoke who owns six houses in one street. That's removed the opportunity for local people to buy. So, isn't the answer increasing council housing, which is a win-win situation for low-cost private ownership and also making sure everybody has a decent house?
Welsh: A gaf i groesawu datganiad y Gweinidog? Mae gennym ni lawer o bobl sy'n ddigartref ac yn byw ar y stryd. Gweinidog, gwelsom nifer ohonyn nhw wrth adael Eglwys y Santes Fair ym mis Rhagfyr ar ôl bod i gyngerdd yr elusen i'r digartref, Crisis. Fodd bynnag, mae gennym ni lawer iawn mwy o bobl yn cysgu ar soffa, yn byw mewn llety gorlawn, ac eraill yn byw mewn cartrefi oer a llaith nad ydyn nhw'n ddiogel rhag y gwynt a'r glaw. Cytunaf â'r Gweinidog nad oes gennym ni ddigon o dai cymdeithasol. A yw'r Gweinidog yn cytuno â mi fod arnom ni angen llawer mwy o dai cyngor wedi'u hadeiladu, ar lefel y 1950au a'r 1960au? Ac mae'n rhaid i ni gofio hefyd, yn y 1950au a'r 1960au, eu bod yn defnyddio concrit cyfnerthedig wedi ei rag-gastio er mwyn creu rhywfaint ohonyn nhw oddi ar y safle. Rydym ni hefyd yn gwybod, wrth gwrs, eu bod wedi cyflwyno safon Parker Morris, a oedd yn gosod safon uchel iawn ar gyfer tai cymdeithasol. A oes gan y Gweinidog ddiddordeb mewn gosod safon o'r fath eto, nid Parker Morris o reidrwydd, gan fod hwnnw'n perthyn i'w gyfnod, ond yn sicr y safon y mae'n rhaid i bob landlord cymdeithasol - cymdeithasau tai a chynghorau - ei chyrraedd wrth adeiladu? Gwelodd y 1950au a'r 1960au gynnydd mawr mewn codi tai cyngor hefyd. Yr hyn a wnaeth hynny oedd rhyddhau tai cost isel a oedd gynt yn cael eu rhentu'n breifat ar gyfer perchen-feddiannaeth. Y broblem i'n pobl ar gyflogau cymharol isel wrth brynu tŷ nawr yw bod yr holl dai hynny sy'n addas iddyn nhw, i gyd wedi'u bachu gan landlordiaid am £50,000, £60,000 mewn rhannau o'm hetholaeth, ac wedi'u gosod am rent o £400, £500 y mis. Chwedeg mil o bunnau, enillion o £6,000 y flwyddyn - yn ariannol, i'r rhai sy'n gwneud hyn, mae'n dda iawn. Ond yr hyn y mae'n ei wneud yw atal pobl, ar gyflogau cymharol arferol, a fyddai fel arall yn gallu prynu tŷ yn Hafod neu Glandŵr neu Blas-marl neu St Thomas ond nawr nid ydyn nhw'n gallu gwneud hynny bellach am fod landlordiaid yn eu bachu mewn niferoedd mawr. Felly, os cynyddwn ni dai cyngor, oni fydd hynny'n cynyddu perchen-feddiannaeth, gan y bydd y tai sydd yn cael eu rhentu'n breifat ar hyn o bryd yn dychwelyd i fod yn dai perchen-feddiannaeth? Os caf i orffen gyda hyn, rwy'n hanu o Blas-marl - mae wedi mynd drwy'r cyfnodau i gyd, ac mae'n debyg bod pobl eraill wedi byw mewn ardaloedd tebyg iawn. Yn y 1950au a'r 1960au, roedd bron pob un yn rhentu'n breifat. Yna, ar ddiwedd y 1960au, 1970au a'r 1980au daeth yn ardal berchen-feddiannaeth yn gyfan gwbl. Ac yna, o'r 1990au ymlaen, maen nhw wedi cael eu prynu gan landlordiaid - rhai ohonyn nhw'n byw filltiroedd i ffwrdd. Mae rhywun yn byw yn Basingstoke yn berchen ar chwe thŷ mewn un stryd. Mae hynny wedi dileu'r cyfle i bobl leol brynu. Felly, onid yr ateb yw cynyddu nifer y tai cyngor, sy'n sefyllfa lle mae pawb yn ennill o ran perchnogaeth breifat cost isel gan sicrhau hefyd bod gan bawb dŷ digon da?