Members quiz Senedd election candidates on homelessness

With the Senedd elections just around the corner, now is a critical moment to speak up on the importance of taking action to end homelessness in Wales.  

Hopeful politicians across the country are listening to the views of people in their constituencies, hearing about the issues that matter to them and the actions they want the candidates who are elected to the Senedd on 7 May to take.  

That’s why we were delighted to join other local charities in a special homelessness hustings event – led by the Wallich - in Swansea’s Brangywn Hall on Tuesday 14 April.  

Our member, Rhiannon reports…. 

“The Swansea hustings housing and homelessness event was the first political hustings event that I had attended.  I was in the company of other members supported by Crisis’ South Wales Skylight, as well as the Crisis staff. 

“Candidates were representing each of the major political parties:  

• Rebecca Fogarty for Welsh Labour,  

• Chris Evans of The Green Party in Wales. 

• Chris Holley of The Welsh Liberal Democrats,  

• John Davies for Plaid Cymru,  

• Tara-Jane Sutcliffe for The Welsh Conservatives, and, 

• Wayne Parsons of Reform UK Wales. All the panel members were standing for seats as Members of the Senedd, where elected Members will make major decisions on behalf of people in Wales, decisions that include Housing and Homelessness.   

“The event was put on by the Wallich organisation and attended by other third sector organisations and the people that they support, as well as other people interested in issues of housing and homelessness from the local community.  

“As well as seeking answers to our questions, we were hopeful that by talking with  people with lived experience of homelessness and those people supporting us, the  candidates would get an idea of the issues related to housing and homelessness from our perspective.

“The impressive ceremonial Brangwyn Hall building that greeted us as we walked towards it, opened to high ceilings and decor that gave a sense of the importance that framed the event.   

 “The questions asked were varied and covered areas such as, how candidates would: 

• make use of buildings that currently stand empty, 

• Bring the cost of rent in line with local wages and Local Housing Allowance (LHA), 

• show that they care, 

• help people who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation, 

• address unacceptable temporary accommodation, 

• And finally, what homelessness meant for each political candidate. 

“As the candidates answered the questions, some talked more generally than others,  repeating what sounded like political slogans. From my perspective, I felt it gave a clear idea of who had come prepared and who might require a lot of help themselves to be able to think about what is needed to face the housing crisis.   

“It was reassuring that the candidates frequently talked about the need to work together despite the expected political rivalries. The event remained fair and balanced with everyone getting their turn to talk about the points that were important to them.   

“There was a good feeling in the air as people felt listened to during the event.    It was also great to see so many people with an interest in housing and homelessness at the event.  

“What reassured me was hearing that candidates at the event had an interest in supporting housing progress.” 

What did the candidates say

It’s impossible to sum up nearly two hours of political debate here, but some of the points raised by the local politicians standing in Swansea were as follows:  

 John Davies of Plaid Cymru said he wanted to see more regeneration and to look at how second homes impact on the availability of housing, as well as a focus on building more social homes. He highlighted his party’s pledge to create 20,000 social homes across Wales by 2030. He said that his party was “massively committed” to housing first and getting people out of temporary accommodation. He also shared Plaid Cymru’s policies for new development bank for Wales and a new agency called Unnos, aimed at addressing barriers to building homes.  

Chris Evans of the Green Party said there were hundreds of empty properties in Swansea, including in his local area. He said his party was committed to bringing empty properties back to use through Compulsory Purchase Orders. He also highlighted the Green Party’s commitment to increase funding for building social homes and to create 60,000 new social homes over the next ten years, as well as the party’s policy to look at introducing rent controls. He said he was committed to finding person centred solutions to homelessness. 

Rebecca Fogarty of Welsh Labour shared that she has previously worked in housing and homelessness. She highlighted that the current Welsh Labour Government has introduced a new homelessness law and said she was committed to ensuring the new law is put into practice. She highlighted her party’s commitment to create 100,000 homes over the next ten years, 40% of which for social rent. She also said that her party would give powers to councils to help bring empty buildings back into use as homes.  

Chris Holley of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said that, to him, homelessness is  “not being able to do what you want to do in your own space.” He said that it is emotive to see so many properties locally that have been unused for many years and that he would like to look at the Welsh Housing Quality Standards with a view to bringing more houses back into use. He added that there are supply and demand issues with housing and more homes are needed. In addition, he said he would like to look at the affordability of social rent.  

Wayne Parsons of Reform UK said that he previously worked for the ambulance service where he saw the impacts of homelessness first hand. He said that he wanted to see a no wrong door approach to support and clear pathways to getting help. He said that he felt it is often costly to retrofit homes and that his emphasis would be on preventing homelessness. He added that he wanted to “cut through the bureaucracy that delays planning processes” in order to speed up building more homes.  

Tara-Jane Sutcliffe of the Welsh Conservatives said that her party has a commitment to build 40,000 new homes and emphasised that they want to look at deregulation to make the planning process for building homes smoother, as well as to look at attracting more investors and developers to Wales. She added that she would be keen to look at bringing empty homes back into use and said there is also a need to press the Westminster Government to look at changing tax systems around land and property.  

Get involved

If you live in Wales, you can join us in speaking up to end homelessness this election. 

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