Tackling Rough Sleeping

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:24 pm on 20 February 2019.

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Photo of Hannah Blythyn Hannah Blythyn Labour 2:24, 20 February 2019

As a Government, our first objective is to support intervention that aims to support people in avoiding rough sleeping as a course of action in the first place. Out of the additional £30 million, £12 million is provided to the local authorities to increase their support to people who present themselves as homeless. As the Member rightly says, there are many reasons why people may not feel it is right for them, or, indeed, appropriate for them to go into hostel accommodation, so, that's why Welsh Government works with local authorities and our third sector partners to ensure that we can take a holistic approach that takes into account the individual and the individual circumstances. The Member refers to the initiative in terms of the Newport City Council pods initiative that previously came before the Welsh Government. Whilst I think that the Welsh Government understands the intention behind these pods and the issue they're trying to tackle, there were concerns regarding their use and what alternative options are available for funding, with each pod costing in the region of £6,000. However, we are keen to work with all of our partners and our stakeholders to look at actually how we can take action to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness in Wales, in all of our cities and towns.