Diolch and thank you, all, for contributing to this debate today. I think, as many of you have said, it’s not just a debate for us to have at the times when we might be feeling that this might be more acute, it’s at times when we need to discuss this throughout the year and make sure that the problems are eradicated.

We did hear from Jenny Rathbone first of all and I do agree with you with regard to universal credit and the pressures that will come from the immigration Act. I would be very concerned when someone’s status is potentially refused how they would then be able to cope in circumstances that are already difficult, actually—they don’t have a salary, they don’t have recourse to the benefits system like we do, so I would be even more worried in those extreme circumstances. But I would say, with regard to your comments on eviction statistics, that there was a substantial rise since 2011, which doesn’t tally with what you said earlier. And, they’re often not used as a last resort, otherwise there wouldn’t be such discrepancies between different areas of Wales. If it was being used as a last resort, I think we would see the statistics much lower than they currently are.

Diolch yn fawr i Rhun ap Iorwerth am eich cyfraniad chi hefyd. Rwy’n credu ei bod hi’n bwysig ac yn eithaf poenus i glywed yr hyn roeddech chi’n ei ddweud o ran sut y mae’n effeithio ar iechyd pobl ifanc mewn cymaint o wahanol ffyrdd; nid yn unig o ran iechyd meddwl, ond o ran agweddau eraill nad oeddwn i’n bersonol yn ymwybodol ohonynt. Roeddwn i’n credu bod eich sylwadau chi’n taro tant o ran bod rhai pobl yn aros mewn gwestai neu B&Bs am ran o’r amser, ond nid yw’r effeithiau hynny dros dro; mae’n effaith bywyd i berson ifanc sydd wedi bod yn rhan o hynny. Rwy’n credu, wrth gwrs, fod yn rhaid inni roi’r arian yna nid yn unig i mewn i addysg, ond i’r sector gyhoeddus yn gyffredinol. Os ydym ni’n gallu rhoi arian i mewn i bethau sydd yn mynd i helpu ein plant ifanc, yna dyna sut y dylem ddefnyddio’r arian hwnnw.

David Melding made very valuable comments too. I think, obviously like me, you’ve read the Shelter report, but it does inform much of what we have to say on this. Obviously, when we talk about budgetary challenges for people on low incomes, I will always refer back to the importance of financial education and inclusion, and hopefully the new financial inclusion strategy will say something about that. It’s not just about the fact that people, potentially, will have less money, it’s how they manage what they have. I’m not saying it’s just people on low incomes who face that challenge, but if you do have less money, it may be, then, that they need more support on how to do that so that they can potentially not face that eviction in those very extreme circumstances.

As you say, pre-action protocols are definitely needed. We’re all Assembly Members here. In relation to tenant engagement, I think you are absolutely right. I’ve seen letters from constituents where they’ve had those warnings at the first stage, and then they actually don’t want to engage at all and they turn off totally from what they see, then, as a sort of policeman figure in their lives. So, if we can change that around, then I think we’re all winning as a society in that regard.

Diolch i Sian Gwenllian am eich sylwadau chi, hefyd. Mae’n ddrud iawn i wneud hyn, ac felly rwy’n credu mai dyna pwynt Plaid Cymru drwy roi’r drafodaeth yma ymlaen, mai’r gost o gael gwared ar bobl o’u tai yw’r peth mwyaf ‘problematic’ i deuluoedd ac wedyn mae’n cymryd hyd at chwe mis i’r bobl hynny ffeindio tŷ arall. Wrth gwrs, rydym ni eisiau clodfori’r hyn mae Cyngor Gwynedd yn ei wneud o ran ei waith, yn gweithio’n ataliol gyda phobl fel Shelter a Chyngor ar Bopeth, ac rwy’n credu y dylai bob llywodraeth leol edrych ar sut mae gwneud pethau sydd efallai’n fwy creadigol, neu’n fwy unigryw yn y maes yma, er mwyn sicrhau bod pobl yn gallu cael cefnogaeth ariannol pan maen nhw yn y sefyllfaoedd caled hynny yn eu bywydau.

Finally, thank you to the Cabinet Secretary for your statement. I’m sure we all recognise that there’s more that can be done, and we shouldn’t be complacent in this regard. I heard you, quite a lot, describing the problem; I think we need to actually be looking at more solutions now in this regard. If there are lots of areas that are acting differently in relation to evictions of families with children, then we need to really put those solutions in place. You say that local authorities have duties and are expected to intervene as soon as possible, but, clearly, in some instances that’s not what’s happening. We need to understand why that’s not happening and how we can change their perceptions as to how they engage with people in their area.

I do welcome the national advice strategy and the specialist advice that Shelter and others give. I think they play a massively important role in providing those services where other services are not able to do that job.

Universal credit and welfare reform should worry us all, and I think it’s a ticking time bomb. We may be here next year discussing even more difficult situations than we are this year as a result of those changes. I urge you as Cabinet Secretary, therefore, to make sure that you have clear lines of communication with the UK Government to make sure that we can protect Welsh people and that children are not evicted and not faced with feeling that they are second-class citizens in Wales when they shouldn’t be treated as such. They need to have the same respect and the same opportunities in life as anybody else. If their educational attainment, if their mental health, if they are more likely to have cancer than other young children, I think that should be something that we all should care about and worry about here in Wales.