The Welsh Government has accepted in principle wide-ranging recommendations from a group of experts on what it needs to do to end homelessness in Wales.

It has set an ambitious goal of ending all forms of homelessness and where it cannot be prevented, ensure it is rare, brief and unrepeated.

Last year, the Housing Minister established the Homelessness Action Group to advise the Welsh Government on what actions it needs to take to realise its goal.

The first of a series of reports, published in October, focused on the actions required to tackle rough sleeping during the winter of 2019/20 and the actions needed to prevent it in the longer term.

In its initial response, the Welsh Government implemented a series of immediate actions to help more people who are sleeping rough off the streets.

The group, chaired by Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, has now submitted its second and most comprehensive report on the long term, structural and strategic policies needed to end homelessness.

The report sets out a framework of cross-government policies, plans and approaches to ensure everyone in Wales can be housed and that when it cannot be prevented, homelessness is rare, brief and non-repeated.

Homelessness Action Group Chair, Jon Sparkes said: "Homelessness is not inevitable, and it’s something which, if we all work together, we know can be ended for good.

"It is vital that public services, organisations and individuals all do their part in working with anyone who is at risk of homelessness to prevent them from losing their homes in the first place and quickly responding if homelessness cannot be prevented.

"I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to developing these recommendations, including those who have experienced homelessness, people who work in housing and homelessness roles, and the members of the Action Group.

"We’re pleased to see the Welsh Government’s commitment to agreeing a plan to end homelessness with partner organisations to ensure Wales can prevent as many people from becoming homeless as possible.

"We look forward to seeing how the action plan the Minister has promised tackles each of the recommendations given but this is a promising step forwards in ensuring each and every person in Wales has somewhere safe and stable to call home.

The action plan that will be developed to implement the recommendations will build on work already underway both at a Welsh Government level and across local authorities and the wider public sector to prevent and end homelessness.

This includes:

- Building 20,000 new affordable homes this Assembly Term.

- Ministers continue to invest £126m into housing related support, and the creation of the Housing Support Grant provides a much stronger focus to help achieve the overarching aim of ending homelessness.

- The youth support grant has been increased by £3.7m, for a second year, to identify and support young people before they become homeless

- Action to increase access to the Private Rented Sector.

The Group’s final piece of work will be to consider how to ensure that the delivery of rapid and permanent rehousing is central to work to prevent, tackle and end homelessness and how to ensure the Welsh Government and partner organisations work closely to effectively prevent, tackle and end homelessness in Wales.

This report is expected to be published later this year.