What consideration has the Welsh Government given to extending Priority Need for housing to 5 years post leaving military service, and has any action been taken in that regard?
The Programme for Government sets out our 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. This legislative reform will include consideration of priority need, in order to achieve the transformational shift to rapid rehousing, which requires long term solutions for everyone in acute housing need and not just those considered in a priority need category.
The move to rapid rehousing will require the transformation of the whole housing sector from alignment of key support services, allocation policies, build programmes and temporary accommodation provision, in order to achieve our long term goal of ending homelessness in Wales. This will include consideration of the needs of, and engagement with, a range of groups, including the Armed Forces community in its widest sense.
Prior to this legislative reform, the Welsh Government Armed Forces Liaison Officers, situated in local authorities across Wales, continue to provide support to veterans and their families across a range of services.