Diolch. We agree with the original motion calling on the Welsh Government to ensure that the Supporting People programme is protected from any financial cuts, and have included this in our amendment to replace this accordingly. However, our amendment goes further, addressing calls by Supporting People providers to ensure that the key preventative services provided alongside the Supporting People programme by the homelessness prevention budget and the housing transition fund are also protected, and recognise that this funding helps people to live independently, saves lives, saves money for statutory services and provides a platform for other sources of funds to be deployed into prevention work—i.e., not only good of itself but an ideal way of tackling a situation of reduced budget.

The Supporting People programme is conservatively estimated to save £2.30 for every £1 spent, whilst also levering in other funding, preventing homelessness, preventing spending on health and social care, and increasing community safety—minimising the need for high-cost interventions and reducing avoidable pressure on statutory services.

This year’s Let’s Keep on Supporting People campaign has been launched by Community Housing Cymru and Cymorth Cymru to secure continued investment and ensure that people who are marginalised and at risk continue to be protected. As they state, the Supporting People Programme prevents homelessness and supports over 60,000 people in Wales to live independently in their own homes and with dignity in their community. They say it’s an essential, preventative service

‘that makes a real difference to the lives of those who benefit from it, increasing their resilience and ability to maintain a secure home’ as well as reducing their demand on health and social services.

‘Over 750,000 lives have been transformed since its inception in 2004’, they add.

Supporting People services support a wide range of people at risk of crisis, including people at risk of homelessness, families fleeing domestic abuse, people with mental or physical health problems or with learning disabilities—or, should I say, learning difficulties—ex-service personnel, care leavers, and older people in need of support. The Supporting People data linkage feasibility study of this year showed that Supporting People interventions reduce use of accident and emergency and GP surgeries, meaning fewer resources used and greater availability of services for the general population. Public Health Wales’s adverse childhood experiences report shows how many of the most intractable health and social issues can be reduced if we intervene early enough to protect children. The Supporting People programme helps us to meet this need.

Supporting People providers have been doing all they can to cut costs and deliver effective services with decreasing budgets, but further cuts would do irreparable damage to these essential prevention services, leaving many vulnerable people with nowhere else to turn. The Supporting People programme grant is £124.4 million and Cymorth Cymru are grateful for the cross-party support that kept this protected last year. They state the housing transition fund has also been hugely promising and effective. However, set around £5 million last year, and falling to around £3 million this year, this is due to reach its final year of funding next year.

So that local authorities are able to retain this funding to enable innovative ways of working, they suggest an increase in the Supporting People grant to £130 million and rolling the transition fund into that. This would allow security of funding for local authorities and providers alike to explore new ways of addressing the homelessness issue on a longer term basis.

Shelter Cymru, Llamau, Gisda, Digartref Ynys Môn and Dewis are calling on the Welsh Government to ensure that all three budgets supporting prevention of homelessness work are protected: Supporting People, transition fund, and the homelessness prevention fund. They state that the homelessness prevention grant provides one of the few stable sources of funding for independent housing advice for those at risk of homelessness, without which much of that work would be at risk. They add that the grant has provided a platform for other sources of funds to be deployed into prevention work and works with people before their problems escalate, meaning statutory services are benefitting from this funding. In other words, cuts to any of these mutually supporting funds would, effectively, be a bigger cut to statutory services.

As the people I met when I visited Supporting People projects this summer told me, these had saved their lives. After all, as we heard at today’s Co-production Network for Wales and LivesthroughFriends seminar, which I hosted, we can all benefit from the abundance of talent and resources amongst our citizens by promoting self-reliance, encouraging reciprocity and ensuring that public services, citizens and communities work effectively together. Let’s not miss this opportunity. Yes, we can save money, but only by doing this differently. Thank you.