MS, Cabinet Secretary for
Housing, Local Government and Planning: Today I have
published the summary of responses to the consultation on the
White Paper for ending homelessness in Wales.
The White Paper on ending
homelessness in Wales was published
on 10thOctober 2023 and closed on 16th
January 2024. The Welsh Government received 140 written responses
from a broad range of individuals and organisations across the
housing and homelessness sector.
The publication of the White Paper followed 14 months of
development work, informed by the recommendations of an
Independent Expert Review Paneland
engagement with over 350 people with lived experience of
homelessness and widescale input from stakeholders across
Wales.
The consultation sought views on:
- reforming existing homelessness legislation to ensure the law
helps prevent homelessness in the vast majority of cases;
- proposed new duties on the wider Welsh public service to
assist in the prevention of homelessness;
- targeted proposals to prevent homelessness for those
disproportionately affected; and
- proposals to improve access to suitable accommodation.
During the consultation period, officials engaged with
stakeholders extensively. This included five virtual events
on specific themes including, among others, health and criminal
justice sectors. We also held events with RSLs to
understand their specific concerns and in-person meetings with
the 22 local authorities across Wales.
The responses to the consultation are informing a number of
proposals for changes to policy and law, as part of
our Programme for
Governmentand Co-operation Agreement which
contains a commitment to reform housing law and implement the
Homelessness Action Group's recommendation to fundamentally
reform homelessness services to focus on prevention and rapid
rehousing.
I would like to thank all those who provided a response to the
consultation, including the Children, Young People and
Education Committee, and all who attended the events held during
the consultation period. We will continue to work closely
with all stakeholders, including the Expert Review Panel to
develop our approach to end homelessness in Wales.
