Diolch, Llywydd. I'm pleased to be taking part in this debate, which, I have to say, is an unusual one for the party that's tabled it, and I'm left wondering if they'll be publishing a policy pamphlet setting out how to fix the problems of universal credit next month.

We've tabled a number of amendments to this motion, some of which seek to place the crisis of homelessness in the proper context of social security cuts and wider austerity that has eliminated many of the services that previously provided a safety net. But I want to focus mainly on two of the amendments that we've tabled this afternoon. The first is amendment 12, calling on the Welsh Government to ensure proper service provision for people most at risk of homelessness. And I'd like to draw the attention of Members to the recent investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that has found that 32,000 households in Wales and England have been abandoned by local authorities because of, often, minor mistakes in the application process—mistakes as minor as missing an e-mail, or not responding to an undelivered letter. Applicants in this position are being classed as unco-operative, and therefore they have any support withdrawn or not provided. Now, anyone who's worked in the sector knows how gate keeping can be a huge problem—that, despite all the laws and the funding for services in place, a local authority officer can ignore these and deny a person support for reasons that include prejudice and a lack of understanding. I know the Minister is going to point to recent guidance issued to housing professionals on helping people with autism spectrum disorder, which identifies how people with ASD have been labelled as unco-operative. But more than this needs to be done, and, for a start, we have to ensure that the advice services are properly funded.

But we have to be honest. We need more understanding from officials and this form of negative, judgmental and punitive gate keeping has to be considered as gross misconduct. I wonder whether Boris Johnson had the universal credit rules in mind when he refused to sign the letter asking for an extension to the Brexit deadline; I wonder whether he was assuming that the EU would regard it in the same way as the Department for Work and Pensions regard an application for universal credit and turn it down on the grounds that it wasn't signed. 

Amendment 11 asks the Welsh Government to join us in campaigning for the abolition of the Vagrancy Act. It cannot be justified that we criminalise poverty, and, instead of using the criminal justice system in this manner, Plaid Cymru would prefer to support people. So, I'd like to ask the Minister: would you be prepared to instruct your own police and crime commissioners to do what Plaid Cymru police and crime commissioners have done and support the revocation of the Vagrancy Act and for the police not to use those powers? I would imagine that there are some Tories who may well now be regretting the creation of those political police and crime commissioner posts now that they are undermining Tory policy.

Now, to conclude, Dirprwy Lywydd, it's important that we realise that ending homelessness is within our grasp and to not do so is a political choice. Crisis produced a comprehensive report showing us how to end homelessness last year, and it contains clear recommendations for the Welsh Government, which include legislative changes. So, my message is this: we have to stop talking now and we must get on with implementing those recommendations in full. Diolch.