Care & Repair Cymru supports Cabinet Minister’s ambition for a safe, warm home for everyone in Wales

Siân Gwenllian MS , Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, announced her priorities in a speech in the Senedd yesterday (10 June 2026), including:

• A commitment to bring forward proposals to legislate for the Right to Adequate Housing for all, something that Care & Repair has long supported.
• Implement a package of measures to protect renters and progress measures to ensure fair rents are set and the price of renting a home is as affordable as possible.
• Promote improvements in energy efficiency and the quality of homes; protect the support for those experiencing acute fuel poverty; and review the Warm Homes Programme in the first 100 days to ensure that it delivers effective support.

We are pleased to see recognition from the Minister of these key issues affecting older people across Wales along with recognition that “home is the foundation of our health and well-being”.

Through our work visiting over 68,000 older people’s homes across Wales each year, we see first-hand the positive impact that housing interventions can have on health and wellbeing. Care & Repair adaptations reduce hospital admissions for older people from injurious falls by 17%, saving around 35,000 Welsh NHS bed days each year. In addition, in 2025-26 over 15,000 of our clients told us that their independence and wellbeing had improved because of a Care & Repair intervention.

We are also particularly pleased to see a commitment to promoting energy efficiency and quality of homes and addressing fuel poverty. We would like to see this include increased funding into fuel poverty initiatives, specifically the Warm Homes Programme.

At a time when many older households in Wales face increasing challenges with the condition and affordability of their homes, alongside rising energy prices, we will continue to highlight the need for a Safety-Net Grant to protect those most at risk from poor housing A national Safety-Net Grant to address hazardous disrepair where no other recourse is available will ensure that every older person in Wales can live in a warm, safe and accessible home and no older person is left living in a home that is hazardous to their health.

You can find out more about our call for a Safety-Net Grant, learn about our pilot scheme and pledge your support.

We look forward to working with the new Minister and her colleagues in Welsh Government to implement these pledges and ensure that older people across Wales live in safe, warm, accessible homes that are affordable and suitable to their needs.