With BBC Wales reporting last week that nearly a quarter of the rough-sleepers given temporary housing during Wales's first COVID lockdown were living on the streets again, and charity ‘Crisis’ reporting that people with experience of homelessness can find it challenging accessing and maintaining a permanent home, Shadow Housing, Local Government and Communities Minister Mark Isherwood is calling on the Welsh Government to work with the sector to establish a better approach to tackling the problem.
Speaking in the Welsh Parliament yesterday, Mr Isherwood said ‘Crisis’ is calling for a national cross-Government plan to end homelessness in a decade and asked the Minister for Housing and Local Government how she will be engaging with the sector to design, deliver and monitor a better, more sustainable way of addressing the issue.
Referring to the BBC Wales report, he said:
“It reported that more than 3,566 people were in temporary accommodation, but 101 were sleeping rough on those dates in August, compared with April when temporary placements were found for all 407 people known to be sleeping rough in Wales. The charity ‘Shelter Cymru’, who are working with real, affected individuals, said it was ‘desperately disappointing’, adding that ‘it's the pressure on temporary accommodation that is leading some Councils to have incredibly strict policies’.
“The charity ‘The Wallich’ said that many Councils were again turning homeless people away from help because of a lack of space, adding ‘We didn't solve poverty, we didn't end homelessness, we haven't solved substance misuse or mental health crises’."
He added:
“Crisis estimate that, on any given night, around 5,200 households in Wales were experiencing some form of homelessness in 2017, and that the housing need for people with an experience of homelessness and for people on low incomes is 4,000 new social homes each year.
“People with experience of homelessness, they say, can find it challenging accessing and maintaining a permanent home, both in the private and social rented rectors. They say the Welsh Government's phase 2 response focused on innovation, building and remodelling to transform homelessness services to a rapid rehousing model with £50 million financial support. But they said that transformation will require long-term planning and change.
“So, they asked what plans the Minister has, therefore, both to ensure that people with experience of homelessness are able to access a safe and secure home and the support they need to maintain a home, and for the long-term and increased funding of homelessness services to transition to rapid rehousing and meet demand? They asked me to ask those of you yesterday.”
The Minister said they are following the plan set out by the Housing Action Group, which has Shelter, The Wallich and Crisis all sitting on it as advisers to the Welsh Government.