Will the Minister confirm the annual spend by the Welsh Government and local authorities on housing individuals in overnight temporary accommodation in Wales?
The Welsh Government does not collect information on the amount of money spent by local authorities to provide temporary accommodation in Wales.
The provision of temporary accommodation is usually provided under statutory provisions so costs will be met from authorities’ core budgets (RSG) rather than via Welsh Government grant.
An additional £6m was provided via the RSG to support local authorities’ provision of statutory homelessness duties from 2018-19. In addition the Welsh Government provides a small amount of funding via the Homelessness Prevention Grant to a number of third sector organisations to support the operation of emergency night shelters. In 2019/20, this funding amounted to £427k and covered projects operating in Cardiff, Aberystwyth and Wrexham.
The Welsh Government also provides funding directly to local authorities through the Housing Support Grant (HSG). HSG funding is used to support activities that prevent homelessness and support households and individuals to maintain a tenancy.