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Welsh housing minister pledges to tackle rough sleeping
The Welsh Government minister with responsibility for housing has said ending rough sleeping is a priority for him.
Speaking at a Crisis conference in Cardiff today, Carl Sergeant, communities and children secretary for the Welsh Government, said “significant strides” had been made through the administration’s homelessness prevention programme.
He claimed that legislation introduced in Part 2 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, which requires councils to help those at risk of homelessness in a 56-day timeframe, has helped 8,800 households keep roofs over their heads.
But he warned that Wales faces “a sharp rise in rough sleeping” as young people find it increasingly harder to secure affordable accommodation, and called for innovative solutions from the housing sector to get people off the streets.
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“It is simply unacceptable that some of our fellow citizens continue to sleep on our streets with no decent alternative and I am determined to reduce incidents of rough sleeping,” Mr Sargeant said.
“We need to rethink our strategy to help single vulnerable people avoid or escape homelessness. Our aim must be to secure long-term solutions as quickly as possible and focus our resources on supporting people to rebuild their lives in their own homes.”
Inside Housing previously revealed that the Welsh Government is considering a Housing First scheme to help tackle homelessness
