On top of the thousands of families with eviction notices and those with notices to come, there is another cohort of people, mainly women, that is hugely affected by the housing crisis. A case I really wanted to raise today is that of a constituent who fled an abusive marriage. She has two young children and is currently in a refuge. She has been offered one room with two beds in it for her and the children. One child will get their own bed, the other will sleep with the mother and there is a fridge and a sink at the bottom of one of the beds. One child has a brain injury and the other has just been put on antidepressants and previously had an issue with self-harm. They are on the council list, but there are no properties. They qualify for the HAP, but there is nowhere to rent. The council is doing everything it can and I hope she will be sorted, but it brings up the wider issue of supports in cases of domestic violence. The providers are doing so much, but we need to be able to offer better accommodation to these families, in particular those who have children with additional needs. A room with two beds where one child sleeps in a bed with the mother is just not good enough, so I again ask that greater resources be put in place to help those providers assisting people in situations of domestic violence.

That is a very tragic case and I am more than familiar with many cases like that. That is why, from a homelessness perspective, the support the State needs to give is more than simply accommodation, though that is of course hugely important, but it is about other support structures like healthcare, advice, counselling and supports for children too. We have dramatically increased the financial support for that range of services over the last few years. We need to continue to do that while people are in emergency accommodation and as we source proper, appropriate and sustainable social housing solutions for them.