Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:43 pm on 12 December 2017.
I'm just staggered to hear you say that some people are on the streets out of choice. If they are there out of choice, we're talking about a tiny, tiny number of people, and that is because there are no other options for them.
Recently, the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, announced that he was strengthening the severe weather emergency protocol. Now, this means that emergency cold weather shelter for homeless people will kick in as soon as the temperature dips below zero for one night instead of the UK Government's three-day minimum period. Now, I've had information that confirms that even that three-day period doesn't apply to Wales, let alone the stronger protocol that's going to be coming in in Manchester, and I've been informed that the Welsh Government has guidance asking local authorities to come up with a written plan but that none of this is binding. Now, that's clearly inadequate. It's not right that homeless people in Wales face a weaker protocol than they do in Manchester under a Labour Government. Will you confirm that that information is correct—that the guidance is non-binding—and if it is, will you now strengthen it to reduce the risks that people face from being forced to live on the streets, especially over Christmas?