Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 2:09 pm on 8 June 2022.
I thank the Member for his very considered question. I know this is an area that the Member is very passionate and committed to supporting in his role as a Member for North Wales, and it was lovely to bump into you as I actually got off the HMS Severn. I had the privilege of a tour around there after the royal gun salute on Thursday, although I would not recommend to Members disembarking a ship wearing high heels. [Laughter.] It was a feat in itself.
In all seriousness, the point you made—our programme for government does set out our commitment to reform housing law and implement the homeless action group's recommendations to fundamentally reform homelessness services to focus on prevention and rapid rehousing. And so this legislative reform will actually include consideration of all priority need in order to achieve the transformational shift to rapid rehousing, which requires, obviously, as you know, long-term solutions for everyone in acute housing need, and not just those considered in a priority-need category. So, this will actually include consideration of the needs of and engagement with a range of groups, including the armed forces community in its widest sense, because you do raise the point in terms of it's not just about the people that have served themselves—it is the family networks around them as well who've been instrumental during that period when they've served and when they transition as well. So, as part of this reform, I can say that Welsh Government will consider the points that you raised and the Royal British Legion have raised as well. The Royal British Legion are part of our armed forces expert group, so I will commit to continuing to engage with them as part of that, and also the role that armed forces liaison officers continue to play with feeding in that information on the ground in support of veterans in communities across north Wales and across the country as well.