I welcome today's Plaid Cymru debate and the opportunity to contribute in it.

Wales is not the richest country on earth, but we are a developed part of the western world, and in one of the largest and richest economies in the world, yet some people are forced to be homeless, and that means that, as a society, we're all failing on one of the basics. That's why we need a lot more compassion on this question.

Ending homelessness has to become a national objective, but incorrect and exaggerated views about homeless people still prevail. I'm sure many of you will recall the First Minister, in response to questioning from Plaid Cymru just before Christmas, when he said it was clear that

'there are some people who have lived on the streets for years, and for some people it seems to be a choice that they make'.

Well, I can't actually remember him saying it at the time, but back in 1988, coincidentally, US President and friend of Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, said:

'They make it their own choice for staying out there. There are shelters in virtually every city, and shelters here, and those people still prefer out there on the grates or the lawn to going into one of those shelters'.

Can you spot the similarity?

Shelters play a vital role in stopping rough-sleeping numbers increasing even further, but there are complex reasons why some people don't use them, who choose not to go into shelters. Those reasons range from substance misuse issues, past criminal convictions, to whether animals are allowed in shelters and to whether they have single rooms or communal facilities.

So, how can we tackle this problem of homelessness? We now need to implement what is called the housing first policy. This would give a menu of options for rough-sleepers and homeless people while permanent accommodation is found.

Turning to the measures in place to prevent homelessness, I have long argued that more action and more ambition is needed. A month ago, when I challenged the First Minister on what action he was actually taking, he didn't sound very confident in his answers. It's interesting to note that he didn't mention at that time that he was planning to invest £10 million into youth homelessness—an announcement that was made just a week or so later.

It was good to see that this extra pressure delivered this £10 million investment but, in the scheme of things, it's a tiny sum and it shows distant ambition. No prior consultation happened, to the apparent surprise of the sector. It also apparently ignores the existence of a standing 10-year policy that was supposed to end homelessness by next year. What we need is a strategic plan to end all forms of homelessness. There are other very good programmes out there: larger, more ambitious schemes, where there's been proper consultation evidence, not least the programmes that have already been mentioned by some that are being developed in Manchester.

I want to turn now, though, to the question of homelessness prevention. The value of the Supporting People budget is understood by us here in Plaid Cymru. When successive Labour Welsh Governments have proposed cutting the scheme, Plaid Cymru has stepped in to protect it. It's almost become a tradition now that we've had to do this. The recent budget agreement marks the third time that we have had to intervene to ensure the protection of this valuable funding stream. What does it say that we in Plaid Cymru have had to do this? We've had guarantees as part of that recent budget deal that the Supporting People funding will be protected for the next two years. If evidence emerges of any slippage in that protection, that will be a breach of the budget agreement and, more importantly, a failure of people who are at risk in this country, and those people do not deserve to be failed any further.

There are policy changes that could happen right now that are within the gift of Government. You could end priority need, you could end the Pereira test, you could end intentionality, you could create a general funded duty to provide suitable accommodation, even if that's a suitable shelter while permanent housing is found. Homelessness is a scourge in 2018. It's a growing societal problem, which after almost a decade of austerity needs a new radical approach. The numbers of people sleeping rough on Welsh streets or sofa surfing should shame all of us. Are we shamed enough to do something meaningful about it?

What Plaid Cymru has outlined here today shouldn't sound too radical because it was precisely what was proposed in a Government White Paper back in 2012. We've been talking about this for far too long now; it's time for serious action.