The actions of the Welsh Government to date have been mixed in responding to this growing crisis. Whilst we have seen some solid pieces of preventative and progressive legislation and pots of money announced over the years, there needs to be a more root-and-branch look at how we can change and enhance our policies. For example, as I said yesterday, announcing pots of money just before Christmas is not enough, and announcing vague 10-year plans, which hardly anyone in the homelessness sector seem to know about, let alone AMs, is not actually a credible response to the problem.

A First Minister who goes out and says he's going to end youth homelessness, while at the same time having a proposed budget item that removes the separate and protected funding stream for Supporting People and merges it with non-housing related items, seems like giving with one hand and pulling the rug from under at-risk people with the other. So, we need to decide if Supporting People is a priority, that has to be ring-fenced and protected to this particular aim, or if it's not, then that's something that the Government has to be clear about and has to tell us now.

Plaid Cymru believes that two things are needed as a matter of urgency. Firstly, we need to move to a housing first policy. It has been good to see that there are pilots of this across Wales, and I'd like to see the outcome of those pilots. This isn't a flight of fancy; there are current pilots across the UK in Manchester, Newcastle, London and the midlands. And in the United States, the state of Utah, one of the most reliably Conservative and right-leaning states, has operated Housing First for over a decade. There was a 91 per cent decrease in the number of homeless people in that state between 2005 and 2016, and Housing First was introduced by Government in that state for a simple reason: with budgets under pressure, it made financial sense. We believe there is a clear evidence base now that it would reduce financial commitments related to homelessness here as well, and my colleague Rhun ap Iorwerth, I hope, will be outlining the financial benefits of housing first later on. This is not the only policy that those of us with a progressive political disposition can support. It cuts across party and ideological lines, regardless of the position that you come from when addressing the issue of homelessness.

Secondly, we need to end priority need. We all know the problem. Someone is at real risk of homelessness and that person believes that they may be at risk, but when they go and seek support, they're told that, because they're not a family, because they don't have certain characteristics, they may not be deemed to be a priority for that particular service. And what we're hearing from Shelter, from Crisis and others is that people are now not going to seek help because they're self-analysing as not being a priority—usually young, single men—and then they're getting no support at all. So, I see that there is huge merit in ending this priority need. Again, according to—. I seem to be quoting Shelter—they're not paying me, I should say—but they tell us that it can be done without primary legislation, as the housing Act empowers the Minister to add or remove priority need groups. So, it's something that can be done relatively easily and I'd be willing to listen to see if that's something that you would be thinking of doing or something that we can work with the Government to do.

As I've said, there is no one size that fits all. We have to take each case as it comes before us, whether you've got substance misuse problems, or domestic violence, or whether you've been made redundant. All of these are unique, but we have to treat everybody with the respect that they deserve. And, to have someone deemed a priority and someone else not, I think that's something that sits uncomfortably with those not only in the sector, but who are seeking support from those services as well.

I'm not minded to support the amendment from the Welsh Government, because I don't think it goes as far as what we are saying here today, but I am willing to listen. Everybody in this Chamber recognises it's an important issue, but it's how we prioritise it from here on in and how we can move so that we are not here in a year's time discussing these very issues. So, I look forward to hearing everybody else's contributions here today. Diolch yn fawr.