2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:32 pm on 7 May 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Leanne Wood Leanne Wood Plaid Cymru 2:32, 7 May 2019

I, like many other people, am concerned about the treatment of homeless people in this country. I was horrified to see the Labour-run Cardiff Council forcibly evict homeless people from parkland in Museum Avenue. People might have seen one homeless man crying out as his belongings were tossed into the back of a flatbed van, heading for who knows where. 'They basically just took my world' was how we responded. Now, I know the Minister with responsibility for homelessness was not happy with the punitive approach her Labour Party colleagues on Cardiff Council took to tackling homelessness in the city centre. She, like me, was probably left wondering why they seemed to take the advice of a Tory councillor who said, 'Tear down the tents in the city centre'. So, will the Welsh Government join me in condemning the actions of Cardiff Council? And can we also have a statement from the Government outlining good and compassionate practice in terms of dealing with homeless people, who are amongst the most vulnerable in our society, and, of course, who are growing in number? And taking a compassionate approach to tackling homelessness would also involve repealing the Vagrancy Act of 1824. Because of their extra autonomy, Scotland and the north of Ireland have already repealed this archaic legislation, which specifically criminalises rough-sleeping and begging. We can't wait for Westminster to get rid of legislation that's been around for nearly 200 years. This is yet another reason why we need full devolution of our criminal justice system, so that we can develop workable, compassionate and evidence-based laws that tackle the problems that we have in society and not allow them to be added to.