Mr. Niall Mulligan:

I have an answer to that, but it may not be the answer the Deputy is expecting. I have been with the trust now for 18 months and it is the first time anybody has asked me that question. I think this is a reflection of the work we are trying to do internally in the organisation. Nobody has asked me my opinion on homelessness. They have asked me my opinion on governance, on financial management, on procurement, on fixed asset registers, etc., but the Deputy is the first person to ask this question. I agree with my colleagues in other organisations. It is a crisis. I worked with the Simon Community 15 years ago.

At that stage, we could not envisage 5,000 people being homeless and now there are 5,000 children in among the 16,000-plus. There is no other way to describe it other than a crisis. From our perspective, with regard to the trust, we need to get through this challenge we are involved in because we have a crucial role to play in responding to homelessness and housing.