
Homeless charity welcomes scrapping of Vagrancy Act
Homeless charity Crisis, along with other homelessness organisations and politicians in England and Wales, has been calling for the act to be consigned to history books. It has remained in place despite a Westminster vote to repeal it in 2022.
Crisis has also welcomed a new draft law in the Senedd, which seeks to improve homelessness prevention and support in Wales.
Debbie Thomas, head of policy in Wales at Crisis, said: 'No-one should be punished for being pushed into homelessness. It's critical that people who are experiencing the trauma of homelessness feel able to reach out for support from authorities – not fear them."
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Welsh government should sell Cathays Park complex, insider says
The Welsh government should sell its Cardiff headquarters, according to a former senior civil Clifford, former head of the first minister's office in Cathays Park, said a smaller office should be set up in Cardiff Bay near the Senedd comments come after new figures show that on average just 19% of staff based in Cathays Park worked in the office each day in Minister Eluned Morgan has previously said the government won't be able to "justify" keeping its offices open if staff continue to stay away. Before Covid struck, around 2,500 people worked at Cathays Park every since the pandemic most have continued to work from most recent attendance figures, for March, show that on average the number of people attending the Cathays Park office each day was 576 (19%).The highest daily attendance was 799 (26%).Speaking to BBC-produced Newyddion S4C, Des Clifford said the days of staff working in the office five days a week were over and the time had come to sell Cathays Park."It's an ugly and unfriendly building," he said."I would close it down and perhaps sell it to the university or somebody else and set up a new office in the Bay so that the government and the Senedd are side by side."This would provide "a greater opportunity for mixing between civil servants and government and the Senedd, which might, in certain ways, create a certain kind of coherence," he added. What is Cathays Park used for? The Cathays Park complex consists of two buildings joined by a older building, dating from the 1930s and Grade II listed, originally housed the UK government's Welsh Board of the position of secretary of state for Wales was created in the 1960s, it became home to the Welsh newer building, completed in 1979, provided additional office space for a Welsh Office that had acquired an increasing range of two-building complex became the home of Wales' fledgling devolved government 20 years later, in 1999. 'Awkward questions' The Welsh government has a total of 20 sites across Wales including 15 so-called "core offices".The costs of running these offices in 2023-24 was £ the Welsh government's estate in March the average daily attendance was 16%.Asked what should happen to those offices, Mr Clifford said there were "all sorts of awkward questions that arise if you have an office in Llandudno Junction and you have another one in Caernarfon"."Are the two justifiable in the circumstances that we're describing when you've got two buildings 30 miles (48km) apart?"The same set of questions arise between Penllergaer in Swansea and Carmarthen, which I think again, is about 30 miles distance between the two."The Welsh government expects its staff to spend 40% of the week - the equivalent of two days - in the week First Minister Eluned Morgan told the Senedd: "Clearly, there will come a point where you have to say 'if you don't turn up, we cannot justify keeping this particular office open'."A review of the government's Powys offices - in Llandrindod Wells and Newtown - is already underway.

South Wales Argus
8 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Proposed BSL Act in Wales risks increasing isolation
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The Independent
15 hours ago
- The Independent
82 children starve to death in Gaza amid Israeli aid restrictions
A United Nations official has described starving Palestinians in Gaza as "walking corpses" due to a severe hunger crisis. At least 113 hunger-related deaths, including 82 children, have been reported in Gaza in recent days. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, said that 6,000 loaded aid trucks are awaiting entry in Jordan and Egypt, while Israel maintains heavy restrictions on aid delivery. Palestinians are resorting to selling gold to afford basic necessities like flour, which has seen extreme price hikes, with many, including journalists, facing starvation. The deepening humanitarian crisis comes as Israel's delegation returns from Gaza ceasefire talks, with the Israeli government attributing food shortages to Hamas.