28 May, 2020 Open access
28 May, 2020 Open access
Housing Minister says every local authority will prepare plans, supported by government funding, to bring long-term savings and benefits to public services to help 'transform lives'
The Welsh Government has announced the ‘second phase’ of its response to homelessness and the coronavirus outbreak, to ensure that everyone provided with emergency shelter during the pandemic will be rehoused.
Confirming that £10m emergency funding for rough sleepers, announced in March 2020, has helped to ensure that no one was left without access to accommodation in the short term during the COVID-19 lockdown, Housing Minister Julie James acknowledged in a Cabinet statement today that there remain ‘huge challenges’ to resolve homelessness in Wales.
As a result, the Minister announced details of the next ‘phase’ of the government’s response to meet those challenges -
‘… a plan for rehousing everyone who has been provided with emergency shelter during the coronavirus pandemic. This will be accompanied by service transformation and, up to £20m of additional funding.
We will be asking every local authority in Wales to prepare a phase two plan which sets out how they will ensure that no one need return to the street, focussing on innovation, building and remodelling to transform the accommodation offer across Wales.
These plans will be able to secure funding - revenue and capital - from the £20m fund. We will expect to see creativity, partnership and a willingness to invest in these programmes, which will bring long-term savings and benefits to our public services as well as the potential to transform the lives of the individuals involved.’
For more information, see Written Statement: Phase 2 Homelessness Plan from gov.wales
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