James Evans, the MS for Brecon and Radnorshire, has called on Mark Drakeford to speed up housebuilding across Powys.

The incident took place on Tuesday, November 16 during First Minister's Questions, and saw Mr Evans question the lack of houses across Powys.

Regarding the discourse in the Senedd, James Evans MS said: “The Labour Government in Cardiff Bay is simply not building enough houses.

“This is a Wales-wide problem, but in our area, the phosphate regulations imposed by Natural Resources Wales are another huge barrier to housebuilding.

“We need to build, build, build so people can own their own homes and don’t feel that they have to leave our area in order to prosper.”

The lack of houses has led to a significant number of renters across Wales - according to Rightmove, rental costs in Wales are rising quicker than anywhere in the UK outside of London.

It's these stark figures that have caused Mr Evans to call upon Drakeford to take action in order to fix the issues across Powys relating to social housing.

Across the county alone, around 4,500 households are waiting to be housed.

During First Minister's Questions on Tuesday, James Evans MS asked, “do you think removing things like the phosphate regulations imposed by Natural Resources Wales would go some way to unblocking the planning system?”

In his response, First Minister Drakeford warned of negative environmental impacts and said, “we have to find a sustainable solution that building those houses does not have guaranteed into them additional pollution impact on rivers that are already—already—over-polluted.”

If you wish to apply for social housing in Powys, you can do so by completing Powys County Council's registration form: https://www.homesinpowys.org.uk/HouseholdRegistrationForm.