CHC gives evidence to Senedd committee on housing support for vulnerable people

The inquiry, which has an initial focus on housing support services, has been receiving evidence from multiple stakeholders, on areas including: the future of the Housing Support Grant (HSG); current and anticipated pressures in the delivery of HSG-funded services; what is known about service performance; and services that should be commissioned in the future to effectively support people with complex needs to find and keep a home.

In a session which also included ClwydAlyn group CEO Clare Budden, and Adra director of customers and communities Sarah Schofield, Rhea discussed topics including:

• views on whether Welsh Government has a clear long-term plan for housing support;

• rapid rehousing and Housing First - and whether Welsh Government’s current emphasis and plans are the right approaches;

• what the sector is up against now and will be over the next 12 months;

• local authorities’ commissioning of services, and whether they are the ‘right kind’;

• outcome data and how it can be used to drive service improvement;

• regulation, and the differences between England, Scotland and Wales;

• cross-sector working and how to improve collaboration;

• good practice in the sector on supporting service users who need additional support; and

• the future of housing support and what it should look like.

Commenting after the session, Rhea said, "It was really welcome - and much needed - to have the opportunity to reflect on the long-term hopes for HSG-funded services, as well as immediate pressures with the Local Government and Housing Committee.

"In recent years, it's felt like a huge amount of energy - from many different people - has gone into protecting what we have. I am grateful to have a space to reflect on hopes for the future, and how we get there."

Further recommendations

To help the committee in its inquiry, we also submitted a detailed response to its initial consultation.

In that response, we set out the challenges we have seen over repeat years, and proposed a three-step solution to ensure Welsh housing support services are sustainable and effective long-term:

1. Stabilise the housing support sector, by protecting existing commissioned services through sufficient and ring-fenced multi-year funding that fully meets the cost of delivering services and investing in the skilled workforce.

2. Invest in granular data on housing need to better understand the demand for, and progress made, on meeting housing support needs.

3. Commit to long-term HSG funding, based on a robust understanding of need, that allows the sector to invest in the skilled workforce and services needed to prevent homelessness and support people to live well in their homes. There also needs to be recognition and investment in the wider public services that also provide support, for example mental health services.

Read our full analysis of the current landscape for housing for vulnerable people, including how effectively we believe Welsh Government is planning for the future of the Housing Support Grant, in our submitted response here.