7. What is the Welsh Government doing to reduce levels of homelessness in South Wales East? OQ59271

Diolch, Natasha Asghar. The Welsh Government is committed to ending homelessness across all regions of Wales and has invested over £207 million in homelessness and housing support services, as well as a record £300 million in social housing in this financial year alone. This includes over £67 million in social housing grant for authorities in South Wales East.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. The number of people sleeping rough in Wales has grown to 116, and, concerningly, a large number of these—53, in fact—are in my region of South Wales East. Homelessness services are under immense pressure, as mentioned by my colleague Peter Fox, with 93 per cent saying that they are extremely or very concerned about their ability to continue delivering services if there is no increase to the housing support grant. Service providers and local authority commissioners are having to make tough decisions about making cuts and making staff redundant. Only last week, a number of people from my region with experience of homelessness visited the Senedd and spoke passionately about the need for high-quality services to help people ultimately out of homelessness. So, Minister, will you give me and the organisations working to reduce homelessness the assurance that the housing support grant will receive extra funding if there are consequentials for Wales as a result of the spring statement? Thank you.  

Thank you, Natasha. I've just set out quite a lot of what we've already done in answer to Peter Fox, but, in addition to that, we've allocated over £67.496 million to local authorities in South Wales East via the social housing grant programme. We've also established the £89 million transitional accommodation capital programme to increase good-quality, longer term accommodation to support all those in housing need. In South Wales East, we've provided £14.925 million to local authorities to support 192 homes for temporary accommodation in those circumstances. We've also given an additional £10 million a year to local authorities in year to support the provision of temporary accommodation to top up the existing £10 million we'd already allocated, as we move towards a rapid rehousing approach. 

But I will say, Natasha, I really do hope, of all the measures that we are hoping for in the budget, that an increase to the local housing allowance is in there, because this is driving a lot of the problem that we have. It's a big amount of money as a headline, but in terms of the money it saves, all of this money I'm setting out here it would save, because it would enable people to stay in the private rented sector homes that they actually have had quite long term in some cases. So, actually, if there is a single thing I'd be calling for in the budget, it is an uplift in the local housing allowance, as I've made very plain. 

Question 8, finally. Mark Isherwood.