A report said that the Welsh Assembly Government might have to get tough with local authorities and other organisations if it was to deliver on its promises about sustainable development.
Source: Andrew Flynn, A Sustainable Development Agenda for the Second Term of the Welsh Assembly Government, Working Paper 10, Centre For Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society/Cardiff University (029 2087 6562)
Links: Paper (pdf) | Cardiff University press release | BBC news report | WLGA press release
Date: 2003-Oct
A report described progress made in tackling environmental issues in Wales, and identified where further work was needed. Improvements highlighted included an improvement in bathing water quality through investment in better sewage treatment; a reduction by 50 per cent in litter on Welsh beaches since 1997; and the successful take-up of the Welsh Assembly s agri-environmental scheme.
Source: The State of the Welsh Environment 2003, Countryside Council for Wales (0845 1306229), Environment Agency and Forestry Commission Wales
Links: WAG press release
Date: 2003-Oct
A paper examined the links between poor housing, homelessness and ill-health in Wales.
Source: Housing and Homelessness On the health agenda in Wales?, Shelter Cymru (01792 469400)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Oct
The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation on a 'spatial plan' for Wales, designed to introduce a stronger geographical dimension into planning and development decisions, and to promote sustainable development goals.
Source: People, Places, Futures: Wales spatial plan, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report (pdf) | WAG press release | WLGA press release
Date: 2003-Sep
A report said that planning authorities' failure to have up-to-date housing needs assessments in their areas had prevented them increasing provision of affordable housing for local people in rural Wales. Instead, some had attempted unsuccessfully to place restrictions on outsiders buying homes in areas, such as the national parks, where high demand was forcing prices out of reach of local people.
Source: Eilidh Johnston, A Source of Contention: Affordable housing in rural Wales, Institute of Welsh Affairs (029 2057 5511)
Links: IWA press release
Date: 2003-Sep
A literature review for the Welsh Assembly Government examined homeless people s access to medical, care and support services.
Source: Peter Somerville, John Lawson, Steven Shardlow and Andy Steele, Homeless People s Access to Medical, Care and Support Services: Review of the literature, Housing Research Report HRR 5/03, Welsh Assembly Government (02920 823353)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Sep
The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation on the way environmental issues were tackled on Welsh farms, and the payments which could be available to help farmers to take an environmentally sustainable approach to the way they farmed.
Source: Welsh Farming and the Environment: Consultation on a new approach, Welsh Assembly Government (01970 627762)
Links: WAG press release
Date: 2003-Aug
A research report said that Wales needed 33,000 new homes to clear a backlog in demand. This requirement was over and above a need for 8,600 new homes a year between 1998 and 2016 to keep pace with growing demand. The research showed a strong preference by people in Wales to buy a new home rather than an existing property, perhaps because of the poor condition of the country's relatively old housing stock.
Source: Alan Holmans, Who's Counting? Demand for homes in Wales 1998-2016, Council of Mortgage Lenders (020 7437 0075)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | CML press release
Date: 2003-Jul
A literature review examined how social housing clearance programmes had been implemented in Wales, focusing on the impact on tenants and on their involvement in the process.
Source: The Implementation of Social Housing Clearance Programmes and their Social Impact, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 3353)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jun
A report provided a statistical analysis and literature review relating to the housing, social and economic circumstances of black and minority ethnic people living in Wales.
Source: The Housing and Socio-Economic Circumstances of Black and Minority Ethnic People in Wales, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 3353)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jun
A report said that some people in Wales who were at risk of homelessness were being provided with poor services, or were restricted from accessing homeless advice, due to local authority procedural failings.
Source: First Contact 2003, Shelter Cymru (01792 469400)
Links: Shelter press release | Welsh LGA press release
Date: 2003-Jun
A study examined the age-related housing and domiciliary care and support requirements of older people in Wales. It said that the ageing population would pose many challenges in coming decades. The trend for local authorities to transfer their residential care homes to voluntary or private sector bodies seemed likely to continue because of the high costs of refurbishment to meet rising standards.
Source: The Age Related Housing and Domiciliary Care and Support Requirements of Older People in Wales, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 3353)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jun
The Welsh Assembly Government commissioned a literature review which examined the processes and effects of housing stock transfers in England and Scotland. Tenant knowledge at transfer was often surprisingly scant, despite the strong emphasis given to the provision of information and independent advice to tenants. After transfer, tenants tended to be satisfied with their new landlord: there was evidence that sceptics were often won over by better performance and by the delivery of ballot pledges on rents, improvements to homes, and quality of service.
Source: The Process and Effects of Stock Transfer Programmes: Literature Review, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 3353)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jun
An audit report reviewed the new arrangements (from July 2003) for renewal of private housing in Wales - involving greater powers for local authorities and the abolition of most mandatory grants. It identified a number of risks, including the fact that by giving more power to local authorities, the Assembly's own housing objectives might not be met; that local authorities' housing renewal policies might not be of sufficiently high quality; that fraud could continue to be a problem or even increase; and that the public might not perceive a system that varied between local authorities as fair.
Source: Renewal of Private Sector Housing in Wales, Auditor General for Wales (029 2067 8500)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | AGW press release
Date: 2003-Jun
A report described the processes followed, and lessons learned, by those trying to improve housing conditions and the social fabric of Wales in a rapidly changing policy context. It examined change under three main headings: working strategically; engaging communities; and meeting the needs of vulnerable groups.
Source: Joy Kent (ed.), Delivering Housing Solutions: Strategies into action, Chartered Institute of Housing (020 7833 9712)
Links: Summary
Date: 2003-Mar
The Welsh Assembly Government announced that the maximum discount allowed under the right-to-buy scheme in Wales would be reduced to 16,000 (from 24,000) with effect from 2 April 2003.
Source: Press release 12.3.03, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Press release
Date: 2003-Mar
