New Bill must move the dial on homelessness.
published on 20 May 2025
The Salvation Army has welcomed the introduction of The Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill, urging the Welsh Government to grasp the opportunity for a reset on funding, collaboration and support.
The Salvation Army is calling for:
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Stronger cooperation across public services in Wales to identify and prevent homelessness, including better data sharing between local authorities, the NHS and the justice system.
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Properly funded support to tackle the reasons behind a person’s homelessness, issues such as poverty, trauma, abuse, addiction and mental health issues.
The Salvation Army’s Assistant Director of Strategic Operations and Development, Emma Shaw, said:
“We welcome the introduction of this Bill and urge the Welsh Government to grasp the opportunity for a reset on funding, collaboration and support to really move the dial on homelessness over the next decade. This is the start of a process that the Government is describing as a ‘turning point’. We look forward to seeing more detail about how the Bill proposes to tackle the root causes of homelessness along with plans to ensure local authorities can adequately fund homelessness support services in their area. People without a home need a roof but also support to tackle the reasons behind their homelessness – issues such as poverty, trauma, abuse, addiction and poor mental health.
“It is encouraging to see included in the Bill some of the evidence we presented earlier in the year to Committee, along with plans to remove priority need, which has been a barrier to ending rough sleeping and traumatic for people who are often desperate and at their lowest point yet not prioritised for accommodation and support. We look forward to engaging and influencing the content of this Bill as it makes its journey through the Senedd and into law.”
The Salvation Army earlier this year gave evidence to the Senedd’s Local Government and Housing Committee. As one of the UK’s largest providers of homelessness services, that evidence was based on decades of experience working with vulnerable people and providing specialist homelessness prevention, outreach, and housing support services across Wales.
