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Welsh Government to roll out Housing First across Wales
The Welsh Government is to bring forward a nationwide Housing First programme in a bid to tackle homelessness.
In a statement to the Senedd on Tuesday afternoon, housing and regeneration minister Rebecca Evans launched two new policy documents on homelessness and rough sleeping.
One sets out eight core principles which will inform how a “pure” Housing First model is implemented across Wales.
The other is a ‘Rough Sleeping Action Plan’ marking out 24 steps the Welsh Government will take to try to “end the need for people to sleep rough”.
Councils in Wales will also receive an extra £2.8m to fund homelessness prevention work, with a focus on helping people gain access to the private rented sector or deal with mental health and addiction issues.
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Ms Evans told assembly members: “There is strong evidence that Housing First works, but it works best where the core principles are adhered to – housing with no strings attached, ready and available support services, and a small fund to help meet individual needs.
“The principles document sets these principles out and my officials and I will work with key partners over the coming months to explore how we can best use existing resources to support delivery of programmes based on these principles.”
She added that the two policy documents are “living documents” designed to change as evidence is gathered from Housing First schemes.
The Welsh Government is already funding 10 Housing First pilot projects across Wales, but the policy document insists it is “essential that all social landlords co-operate”.
Rough sleeping figures released last week revealed a 33% rise in people bedding down outside in a single-night snapshot count across Wales.
Ms Evans said the rise was “disappointing in the face of our efforts and investment, but not unexpected”. She blamed UK government austerity and welfare reform policies.
David Melding, housing spokesperson for the Welsh Conservatives, welcomed the announcement but called for more detail and said it was time the Welsh Government adopted a target date to end rough sleeping.
Bethan Jenkins, housing spokesperson for Plaid Cymru , expressed disappointment that ministers still had made “no clear commitment” to removing ‘priority need’ from housing allocations.
