Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:32 pm on 23 October 2019.
Yes, we do have some evidence. The numbers are problematic, because we do them in spot checks and we do them in rough-sleep accounts. And we know, for example, that it's very difficult to get women in rough-sleep accounts. We know that because they tend to walk all night and sleep in the day because it's safer and so on. So, the numbers are problematic. We do have data. We have got preventative measures here in Wales that have, I think, stemmed the flow a little, but you are fighting a rising tide.
Deputy Presiding Officer, this is not the first time I've spoken about homelessness in this Chamber in this term. It's only two weeks since I made by statement, so I'm not going to repeat some of those things. But we have to stem the tide as well as address the issues at the sharp end. And we have to do both of those things or we will continue to see the pressure of people falling out of suitable accommodation. But that single thing, if you want to really do something—change the local housing allowance element of universal credit and you will certainly turn off one of those taps.
So, we are working very hard with the levers we do have in our control. We're investing over £20 million this year alone in increasing our housing supply. And unlike the UK Government, we have never moved away from supporting the delivery of social housing. I could not agree with my colleague Mike Hedges more: the building of council housing is the only way forward out of this. So, we have taken significant strides forward in embedding that preventative approach and in increasing our supplies. [Interruption.] Certainly, Mark.