4. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Climate Change regarding the impact of temporary accommodation spend on local authority budgets? OQ58781

Homelessness is a priority across Government, and I have regular conversations with ministerial colleagues about how we can work with local authorities to put cross-cutting solutions in place.

Thank you, and I declare an interest regarding property ownership. Now, the pack prepared for the Conwy county cabinet meeting that was held recently on 22 November states:

'The number of people accessing temporary accommodation is increasing at an alarming rate, which is having a significant impact on the homelessness budget.'

Given that the Welsh Government continue to ignore our warnings, I will now quote from the report that's been prepared for the Conwy County Borough Council Conwy First Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru coalition cabinet. They say:

'Demand is increasing largely due to private rented sector evictions. The highest recorded s21 notices (no fault evictions) in one week is 30 and is now averaging at around 15 a week. This is a combination of Renting Homes Wales Act implications, Buy to let mortgages and the increase in interest rates.'

So, there's absolutely no doubt that this Welsh Government's legislation on the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 is making people homeless, and is also contributing now to piling pressure on my local authority's taxpayers. Minister, rather than expect the cabinet of Conwy, who are already overstretched and underfunded by your Welsh Labour Government—. Why should they fund the increased costs of temporary accommodation? And I might tell you—

No. No, no, no, no. You'll have a chance again to tell her whatever you want to say. I think you have asked the question, have you? 

Not yet. Almost there. 

Okay. Quickly. 

Almost there. Will you now commit to covering this extra expense, and will you also explain to this Senedd what steps you as a Government are actually taking to build the homes these people living in temporary accommodation need? Thank you. 

Obviously, Welsh Government is committed to ending homelessness across Wales, and in support of this we're investing over £197 million in homelessness and housing support services, as well as a record £310 million in social housing this financial year alone. And we have also made available £10 million to local authorities to support the provision of temporary accommodation, as we move towards a rapid rehousing approach. We've also provided additional funding to local authorities to provide interest-free property loans, for example, to landlords and homeowners for home improvements to renovate empty properties to bring them back up to standard for them to be used to increase the supply of housing locally. This also, actually, includes turning commercial properties into houses or flats as well. 

So, there's a huge amount of work going on with local authorities. That scheme alone has been used to bring back over 1,600 homes into use across Wales, and supported improvements to a further 1,300 homes. And in addition to this as well, from a finance perspective, we're responding to the pressures in the system, so we've provided an additional £6 million for a discretionary homelessness prevention fund, and that provides maximum flexibility for local authorities to help people, both people who are receiving housing-related benefits and those who don't, to avoid homelessness. So, we are, as you can see, providing significant amounts of funding through local authorities and our registered social landlord partners to help prevent homelessness, but that doesn't for a second underestimate the scale of the challenge that is still ahead of us. 

Minister, I'm aware that Conwy County Borough Council has a rapid rehousing policy that has gone down well in dire circumstances, and also that councils are advising private tenants to stay in place if they get no-fault eviction notices while they try and help them with that funding you've just mentioned. And I must say, it's really twisted of Welsh Conservatives to blame Welsh Government, who are doing all they can, when this is mainly down to the Tory cuts and financial pressures created at Westminster level. Minister, the local housing allowance being frozen in 2020 at well below market rent is one of the biggest issues we heard at the Local Government and Housing Committee, along with UK Government policies such as the bedroom tax. We heard at committee that, in Swansea, a three-bedroomed private house was £1,000 now, and the LHA only covered £500 of that rent. I understand that the discretionary housing payment fund, which can be used as a top-up, has also been cut by the UK Westminster Government. Is that correct? 

The discretionary housing payment funding, administered by the UK Government's Department for Work and Pensions, is 26 per cent less in 2022-23 than in the previous year. And bearing in mind that we are in the most dreadful time, in terms of the pressures on households, it's absolutely not the time to be cutting that vital support. Actually, that reduction follows an 18 per cent reduction in 2021-22 compared to the year before that. DHP funding in 2022-23 is the lowest amount Wales has received since the commencement of the UK Government's welfare reform policy, and I think that really speaks to how challenging this period is going to be for people across Wales who will rely on this funding.

And that's one of the reasons we've provided that extra £6 million to which I referred, and also why we've tried to make sure there's maximum flexibility for local authorities there. Authorities can offer preventative measures, such as offering a rent guarantee, they can pay for rent arrears as part of a package of action to sustain a tenancy, and they can also top up the discretionary housing payment funding locally, which I know some authorities have decided to do as well. So, we're trying to support authorities as much as possible, but I think that the way in which the UK Government is pulling back from that discretionary housing payment funding is something of deep concern to all of us.