
North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to reconsider its funding proposals which would reduce homelessness prevention advice and support.
After asking the Cabinet Secretary for Housing in today’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament what action the Welsh Government is taking to support homeless people, Mr Isherwood raised concerns over the Welsh Government’s planned future funding for preventative homelessness services.
He said:
“In 88 per cent of their cases, Shelter Cymru manage to prevent homelessness, and, in 59 per cent, to keep individuals and families in their original home. However, they're concerned by the detail of the Homelessness Support and Prevention budget line in the Welsh Government Draft Budget you referred to.
“They provide significant advice and support to people in Wales via the Homelessness Prevention Grant, which is contained within the same overall budget line as the Housing Support Grant, HSG, and state that the ‘indications are that non-HSG grants will face real-terms cuts’.
“A cash-flat grant would mean reduced support for homelessness prevention for two consecutive years, which, combined with the cost of meeting the National Insurance rise, would require an overall cost-saving equivalent to two Full-time advisers and a reduced advice capacity of around 360 households.
“Although the Welsh Government states that it is committed to ending homelessness, it's therefore proposing to reduce its support for preventative advice.
“How do you, therefore, respond to their call for the Welsh Government to increase all grants within the Homelessness Support and Prevention budget line?”
In her response, the Cabinet Secretary said: “I do understand the complexity of the budget, but very much we're doing what we can, putting prevention first here and supporting preventative services”.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Isherwood added:
“These services are critical, and the Welsh Government would be both duplicitous and foolish if it did not safeguard them.”