First of all, can I thank the committee for this hugely important report? I'm not a member of the committee myself, but I can see from the amount of work that's gone into producing it and from the significant evidence taken, it's going to be a great help to Welsh Government and I think that Welsh Government's response to it is largely to be welcomed as well.

It's fair to say, I think, that Welsh Government is providing a very clear focus on well-being in our communities and I can think of no more significant contribution to personal well-being than a safe, warm, affordable home—it's the foundation to so many other aspects of life. 

From my limited experience, based on volunteering with the night shelter in Merthyr Tydfil and talking to both the residents and the more experienced volunteers, it’s very clear that the causes and the reasons for homelessness and rough-sleeping, as identified in the inquiry, are varied and complex. Indeed, in many cases, as is highlighted in the report and by other speakers, the housing situation of an individual may reflect a myriad of other chaotic problems within their life. That’s why I wanted to refer specifically to recommendation 17 in the Welsh Government’s response. It is absolutely right that there should be a shared responsibility between health and housing Ministers to tackle rough-sleeping, and the Government’s acceptance of this recommendation is therefore welcome, albeit with the caveat and clarification that’s been sought by the committee Chair, John Griffiths. However, as the Government’s response states, all Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers have a shared responsibility to help deliver more progress in reducing rough-sleeping. So, I’d like to hear more from the Minister about the whole-Government approach to the issue. For example, is the Cabinet Secretary for the economy pushing the private sector in Wales to up the contribution that they can make through their corporate social responsibilities? Is the Minister for culture pushing people in the arts sector to engage more with the homelessness sector to use the capacity of the arts and music to reach out to people? In education, is Government alert to those children who are placed at great risk by the lack of a safe, stable home? And similar questions could be put forward to all Government departments, so I await with interest the response to that.

Dirprwy Lywydd, I also wanted to speak on the recommendation 28 and the reference to the Supporting People programme. We know that pathfinders are currently testing the possibility of flexible funding, but, even at this point, like others, I believe, I want to put down a marker. I remain to be convinced that providing some local authorities with extra flexibilities will not carry with it significant risks to what we're trying to achieve, and that is a concern I know is shared by those in the housing sector. For example, in some places, we are already seeing risks to school budgets after the Welsh Government removed ring fencing from education money. In my view, we need to look and learn from those experiences. If the current Supporting People programme can deliver with an even clearer move to improving outcomes then it would be unwise to put that at risk. With ring fencing, we know that all the money allocated will go to that purpose. Some local authorities may even add to it. However, removing the ring fencing—it is clear to me that some councils will respond to their priorities in a different way, and that could undermine all the good work that we're doing in this area.

So, can I once again thank the committee for its report and hope that it will go a significant way towards assisting the Government to deal with an issue that has become a source of shame in Britain today? And let’s hope that, in Wales, we can show that we can do things differently, that we can devote time, energy, resources and commitment to dealing with this distressing and unnecessary blight on the lives of so many vulnerable people in our society today.