5. Will the Minister make a statement on Welsh Government support for homeless shelters? OAQ54823

Yes. This Government is tackling homelessness in all its forms. We want to move away from temporary solutions like emergency shelters, to quickly supporting people into sustainable, long-term accommodation. However, in the short term, shelters remain a key element in supporting people off the streets.

I do agree with the policy thrust here and the last part of your statement—that we still need these temporary emergency shelters. Can I bring to your attention the threat to The Wallich night shelter in Riverside? As we know, rough-sleeping has increased in the last three years—by the survey measures, anyway, it seems to be the case. And we do need to ensure that best practice, like that developed by The Wallich, which has been serving this community for over 20 years, is kept going as long as it needs to be there.

Yes, I agree with that. I'm not aware of the specific circumstances, but if David Melding wants to let me know any specific circumstances, he's aware I'm more than happy to look at them. From our point of view, we are making sure that councils are adequately funded, to ensure people are given the shelter they need, that the assertive outreach is in place. And just to reiterate in the Chamber, we've told councils to just do what is necessary to do and we will sort the plumbing out afterwards. So, no council should be telling you that they've got administrative or other difficulties in doing that; the services should be delivered, and the Welsh Government has undertaken to sort out any of the charging or other arrangements afterwards, and we've also said that no authority will lose out as a result of stepping up to that plate.

Minister, you'll be aware, following a recent question I asked the First Minister, that we are now seeing rough-sleepers in all our communities, like Connah's Quay and Shotton in my constituency. Now, I must say, Minister, nine years of Tory austerity, deliberately targeted at the poorest and most vulnerable, has brought us to this point. Without a roof over their heads, it is impossible for these people to have their voices heard. So, it's our job in this Chamber, and chambers across the UK, to stand up for them loudly and proudly, and that's exactly what we should be doing.

The Welsh Government's housing support grant provides us with the sort of flexible support that enables councils to tackle the most difficult places, and getting people through shelters into real, long-term housing solutions. Minister, will a Labour victory tomorrow enable you to further fund this grant and start to tackle the reality of nine years of Tory austerity?

Indeed. We very much hope that we will have a Government that understands that targeting spending on the poorest in our communities is a measure of civilisation. You measure a society not by what it does for those at the top who are richest, but for what it does for those at the bottom who a vulnerable and poor. I have to say the record of this Government speaks for itself, with the number of people on the streets, with rising crime, the slashed police numbers, difficulties in hospitals, and the starving of local authority services. In the 'Housing Matters' report, recently submitted to us by Cymorth Cymru, Community Housing Cymru and Welsh Women's Aid, the report tells a story, as Leanne Wood also pointed out, of the pressure on services facing increased demand and reduced spending power. They raised the issues of rough-sleeping, ending evictions into homelessness and addressing the impact of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. They say that any Government worth its salt should have those as their priorities. A Labour Government would have those as its priorities at UK level, as this Government, this Labour Government in Wales has always had them as our priorities.