Housing Matters - Welsh budget 2021-22

Cymorth Cymru and Community Housing Cymru are working together to call for a significant increase in the Housing Support Grant when the Welsh Government publishes its budget for 2021-22.

The Housing Support Grant is the Welsh Government’s principal funding stream for preventing homelessness and supporting independent living. Every year it helps more than 60,000 people to avoid homelessness, escape abuse, live in their own homes and thrive in their communities. Through the provision of refuge, supported accommodation and tenancy support services, the Housing Support Grant (HSG) prevents people from sleeping rough, enables people to leave abusive relationships, helps people to overcome mental health problems, and works with people to build on their strengths and fulfil their aspirations.

These services can be utterly transformational for individuals and contribute to a healthier, more prosperous, more equal Wales. In addition to changing lives, the Housing Support Grant also reduces pressure on a myriad of public services, from health and social services to criminal justice. Recent research conducted by Cardiff Metropolitan University found that every £1 invested in HSG services delivers £1.40 net savings to public services in Wales.

The response to COVID-19 

Our Housing Matters report explains that homelessness and housing-related support services have been at the forefront of Wales’ response to the pandemic, helping thousands of people to move off the streets and into emergency accommodation. Tens of thousands more people have continued to be supported through the Housing Support Grant to avoid homelessness and stay safe from the virus. It is essential that the Welsh Government builds on this work and ensures that no-one returns to homelessness after this pandemic ends.

Welsh Government budget 2021/22

In advance of the Welsh Government’s draft budget for 2021/22 we are calling on Ministers to significantly increase funding for the Housing Support Grant and ensure that services have the resources and capacity to meet the support and accommodation needs of people who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness in Wales. We have a unique opportunity to build on the fantastic efforts during the pandemic and make real strides towards ending homelessness in Wales.

Download the report in Welsh or in English.