CHC responds to Welsh Government Budget announcement

Welsh Government has today published its budget for 2019/20, with Cabinet Secretary for Finance Mark Drakeford AM confirming that funding for homelessness and Supporting People will be ringfenced until the end of this Assembly term.

The announcement follows the nationwide Housing Matters Wales campaign led by Community Housing Cymru and Cymorth Cymru in partnership with other organisations. The campaign proposed the creation of a new Homelessness and Housing Related Support Grant, which includes funding for Supporting People and the Homelessness Prevention Grant, and we are delighted that this proposal has been adopted.

Alongside the announcement on homelessness and support funding, the Finance Secretary also confirmed he would be making an additional £35m of funding available through Social Housing Grant to achieve Welsh Government’s 20,000 home target.

Responding to today’s announcement, Community Housing Cymru Chief Executive, Stuart Ropke, said:

“At a time when budgets are tight and financial pressures are impacting on services, we are pleased Welsh Government has acted to protect funding for homelessness and housing related support in Wales. We have worked closely with our members, politicians and civil servants over the last year to develop a constructive alternative to previous proposals, and today’s announcement will be welcome news to all who joined us in the Housing Matters campaign.

This decision will provide housing associations with greater stability and certainty to plan services for the long term, and allow us to work closely with Welsh Government to review and improve on current services.

We are also pleased to see that today’s budget continues Welsh Government’s commitment to provide funding to enable housing associations to build the homes Wales needs. This is an essential part of our pact with Welsh Government, and means we can continue to work to deliver Welsh Government’s target of 20,000 homes in this Assembly term.”