Construction union UCATT have welcomed the decision by the Welsh Assembly, to introduce powers that will allow the suspension of the Right to Buy of council homes.

Nick Blundell, Regional Secretary for UCATT Wales and South West, said: "This is an important first step in the campaign to reduce the misery suffered by thousands of families due to the chronic lack of decent social housing in Wales."

The Welsh Assembly Government has indicated that they will only use their new powers in extreme cases, where there is a chronic shortage of housing.

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UCATT will be mounting a lobbying campaign of all councils in Wales to apply for a suspension of the Right to Buy scheme. Problems of homelessness and overcrowding have increased in Wales in recent years, as a result of a lack of affordable social housing, a problem made worse as a result of the recession.

Mr Blundell, added: "The problem of housing shortages is not just confined to a few hotspots there are families in every part of Wales who are forced to live in inadequate accommodation. It is essential that all councils in Wales support both a suspension of Right to Buy and a massive increase in the building of new council housing. This is the only way the housing crisis can be tackled."

(CD)