2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:30 pm on 10 January 2023.

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Photo of Delyth Jewell Delyth Jewell Plaid Cymru 2:30, 10 January 2023

Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to request a statement, please, outlining whether legislation in Wales covering homelessness is sufficiently compassionate. Just after Christmas, I was made aware of a homeless man who'd sought help from a Catholic church in my region. The man had been released from prison and he'd lost his flat. He'd approached social services and Cornerstone, and he was given a tent and a sleeping bag and told that they would see him after the Christmas break. The parish priest housed him over Christmas in a hotel at his own expense before the man came back to stay in the church shed. Now, the priest, I know, asked the authorities whether a tent over Christmas really fulfills society's duty of care for the vulnerable, and I have to say I share his alarm. Is that really the society that we are? Can a statement please outline what support is expected to be given to everyone presenting as homeless and set out what would need to be done to raise awareness and to remind local authorities and support services across Wales of those responsibilities please, and to ensure that more desperate people, in the depths of winter, aren't left to just make do with a tent?