their australian who depends on their government to put them first. the shadow brexit secretary, sir keir starmer, says to break the brexit impasse, the government should commit to another referendum in the withdrawal agreement bill. prince william opens up about the pain he suffered after the death of his mother, diana, the princess of wales, in a bbc documentary about mental health. now on bbc news, why do so many rough sleepers continue to be trapped on the streets? wyre davies has following the lives of those sleeping rough in cardiff for bbc wales investigates.

cardiff city centre on one of the coldest nights of the year. this winter there is a noticeable difference to the streets. this is perhaps where rough sleeping is at its most visible in wales. this is a main street in the middle of cardiff and there are a string of tents, three or four huddled together, two or three people in each one trying to keep warm. it is a bitterly cold night and there are at least 12 tents already pitched here in the middle of queen street. over the last few years, rough sleeping numbers in wales have gone up dramatically. in cardiff alone there are estimated to be over 100 people sleeping out. each has an individual story of how they have ended up on the streets. i can't go back to my flat. so i got into this to get into a b&b.

if i can't and i've got to stay out on the street, i make sure i'm wrapped up warm. some, like dell, have been homeless for a while. how come you're on the streets? i had a breakdown in my relationship about a year and a half ago. i was drinking quite heavily. i lost myjob and i've got a little boy i haven't seen in a while. you had your own place and job? yes, i was a nurse and i worked in dementia. i was working in hopkinstown. you had a regular life and job... as i say to everybody, you don't realise it. how old are you? a0 now. they say life begins! del is not the only one who will be sleeping out tonight and the temperature is plummeting. it's notjust tents, there are people looking out for doorways as well.

so what is it like being out on the streets on nights like this? it's about 11 o'clock at night and it's that time of the evening when many of those people who are sleeping rough are starting to bed down for the night. i have found a spot where i'm going to bed down for the next couple of hours and try and keep warm from this cold and snow. in reality, even i'm a bit too old for this. incredibly, life expectancy for men sleeping rough is a7. for women, it is a3. it's cold. it's cold, it's cold. my inexperience is showing. my first choice is too exposed and i have to move to find somewhere more sheltered. but it doesn't make

sleeping any easier. singing. it's nearly seven o'clock and it's time to get up and move on. the streets are already getting pretty busy. i got a couple about sleep but it was desperately cold and really uncomfortable. many of the people who do sleep here, rough, in cardiff, will be back tonight and the question really is what can be done to get these people off the streets? people like christina. morning. she is already up to catch the morning commuters. last night, she slept

out in her tent. christina has been homeless for years. i was an 18—year—old runaway, i ended up coming down here in 9a and i have been homeless since. i don't really want to be living in a tent all my life in this cold weather. i'd rather be in a nice warm home with four walls and i'd be able to get to see my son when i do get housed. at the moment, there is no chance of me getting to see my little man in the predicament i'm in. it's an endless circle and it's a horrible circle. we had to sit out here to make our money to get what we need for our day. i smoke spice unfortunately i'm addicted to it. i'm severely ill if i don't have it. others are up as well including del. it looks like it's going to start again, the snow again. yes, it was really, really cold after i spoke to you yesterday.

the temperature dropped again. each morning, the council outreach breakfast team offer a cup of tea and try to persuade people to take up emergency accommodation. the council says there are enough places for all rough sleepers. so why are the streets still full of tents? many claim they still feel safer sleeping rough. being in them hostels and that situation, people are lucky to wake up and have their trainers in the morning. there's probably someone in the breakfast you fighting over who is going to have the trainers and at least i know if i wake up here, i choose the company i sleep around. this is like my house, really, i can choose who i want in and out. one hostel facing a lot of criticism from the streets is the huggard. this winter, along with other charities,

they are offering extra places. as their day centre closes, it's time to clear up. ijoin them as they let people in for the night. regulars arrive and pick up their sleeping bags or duvets. they pick a spot on the floor. all of a sudden, a row flares up. last chance or you'll have to go. calm down. but staff calm things down. after some supper, it is time to get some sleep. during the winter months, there have been an extra 20 overnight spaces here at the huggard. nobody is pretending it is anything other than emergency accommodation.

not much more than floor space, a bit of bedding and food, but it is warm and dry, there is cctv and staff here on duty all night. come on then, signs of life, give me a wave. it is seven o'clock and time for people to get up. the day centre will need the room. the huggard insist that floor space is safer than sleeping out but they accept it's not for everyone. people want their freedom and sleeping in a communal environment can often be quite difficult, particularly people have mental health problems and substance abuse issues so it's not an ideal environment and what we don't want to suggest is that emergency overnight accommodation is a solution to rough sleeping because it isn't. more and more people are actually stuck in a cycle of being in emergency accommodation and out on the street and we have to find a way of actually

breaking that cycle. one way the huggard is helping to break the cycle is helping to sort out benefit claims. to direct your call to the right place, i will need to know why you are calling today. employment and support allowance. thanks. please hold on i will put you through to an adviser as soon as possible. it could take a while now. the system is an even bigger challenge if you don't have an address, an id or a bank account. like other rough sleepers, richard has tried to get around this by sharing a bank account but his money has gone missing. it's taking the mick because at the end of the day, i can't even access money. now i would have to go out and i'm living outside at the end of the day and it's just trying to live and survive. what happens if you don't get it? i will end up begging.

and it's not even about begging, for me, i'm from cardiff, you are seeing people. and it's being judged. on the streets is where richard doesn't want to be that the benefit system, even with help, feels like just another barrier back to normal life. thank you for your time. half an hour later, it's not good news. they can't do anything about that money now, that money has gone. you have done that with your new account... my money. i've lost my money. in terms of what they can do for you, yes. i'm going back to jail. on my mother's grave, i going to do something so... listen to me. the department for work and pensions insists there is help to ensure the homeless can get their benefits.

there are other challenges for rough sleepers. if they want to climb the steps to secure a home, they are expected to follow the hostel staircase system, as it's called. president lieber todd is trying to do just that after weeks of sleeping on the floor here, he had a little more privacy. this is where i sleep at night. can you stay in the day? no, with the floor space system we leave at 8:30 in the morning and i'm not allowed in until half past eight at night so i spend all day on the streets anyway. you are going to try to get a room. i am going to stick it out with the system. i got a worker here and he's pretty good. if i get somewhere i can settle, i can be in their 2a out—of—date if i like, it's my room. i don't have to leave it at all. when was the last time you lived in a proper home? i've never had one.

i left home at 15. how old are you now? 35. 20 years you've either injail or homeless? that's right. it is february and there are plenty of homeless people still on the streets. del will no longer use emergency shelters but he has been out all winter and it's taking its toll. what's wrong with your hand? it's the cold weather. it's really sore, i don't know if i've got frostbite on my hand or something. i don't know. i've had it up to here, i really have. i don't want to be like this anymore. i'm just so depressed. i don't want to be dead basically. you know what i mean?

there have been an estimated 90 homeless deaths across wales over the last five years. christina is in trouble as well. her tent is gone and she says she was let down by a friend. i haven't seen my tent, my clothes and my bedding, all of my food and my money, what else was in my tent, the council take it away. i need to get my own flat instead of temporary accommodation, somewhere where i can close the door behind you. somewhere where no one can come through the door. my tobacco smells of rabbit. and i haven't even got a fag. the six nations has come to cardiff. the capital city is in

the public spotlight. tents have begun to disappear as the council finds places for some. others havejust changed pitch. likejustin. i don't want to be in a hostel so i've got to sleep in a tent for three years before they come and say, listen, we got you a flat. i will sleep in a tent for three years. forjustin to get his flat, he is supposed to follow the staircase system and that engaging with the council, going through various hostel accommodation for he is ready to rent a permanent home. the problem is that too many homeless rough sleepers have been on the merry—go—round of hostels and short—term accommodation before. it's not worked out and they end up back on the streets. but there is an alternative method

that's been used in other countries. it's called housing first. rough sleepers are given a permanent flat first. there are no personal conditions such as giving up drugs or alcohol. but there is indefinite, intensive support. 81 apartments, which look like this. in finland, this man was the driving force in making housing first the solution for street homelessness. many have shelters and hostels as the main option you are not solving it, you have a constant need for more temporary accommodation. it's not really the way to solve the issue. so we decided we have had to rethink everything and we have to change the system. the results are dramatic, old hostels have been converted into flats, temporary beds in helsinki have dropped from 600

tojust 52. rough sleeping itself has been virtually eliminated. what about del who wanted off the street but would not go to night shelters? there has been a breakthrough. good to see you again. the council have allowed del to skip a couple of steps on the staircase system and rent a room in one of their residential blocks. it's good, nice, cozy, warm, it's got heating. you have been out of the system for a couple of years? did you feel in a bit of limbo? i am but i've got a set in my mind what i want to do, i've got to do it. i've got a son and i got to do it for him.

i've got a life behind this which i want back. i am fortunate that i got it. there should be more places for people like this. del has a support worker as well but the room is still only temporary. the argument is that housing first would give del a better chance. but is it something we can afford to offer every rough sleeper in wales? a recent study in liverpool suggested the council there could make savings of over £a million if it switched its system to housing first. and research shows where it's been introduced it can save up to 15,000 euros per head as well as getting people off the street. it's now march and across cardiff there are still tents and rough sleepers.

behind the museum, justin and his friends have been told they are about to be evicted. the council says they are a public health concern. justin is hoping to stay if he can tidy up. when the council arrive, it's clear they will all have to go. everyone here has been offered temporary accommodation, but it's not what they want. they are putting three people in a shared flat, you are with two people you don't know who can rifle through your stuff. i will not buy into all that, hostels. for the council workers there are health hazards like used needles.

now we have to go to casualty. cardiff council says people will be evicted if they continually refuse to engage. tents have given the homeless a false sense of security and there have been many near deaths. forformer nurse del, it's a case of sit and wait as he engages with the existing system. his luck is holding. good news today, this friday we are moving into full—time accommodation. it's going to be a massive difference, won't have to leave during the day, the 9—9 situation at the moment. won't to have to do that anymore. can have a lie—in in the morning, have our own flat.

have a key, come and go as we please. but others we've met feel like they're stuck in limbo. the park space is supposed to be temporary. i don't understand i'm supposed to move forward. i don't understand, how can we move forward? i have to walk the streets, it's messing with my physical and my mental health. with time on his hands, habits that todd had under control in prison are getting out of his control. get fired into the spice, ended up smoking this spice stuff. same sort, i'm still

out on the streets. it is wet out here. i am going to chop the spider, he's got his own little burrow in there somewhere. i can feel it moving now and again, i think there's a spider in there. no nits or anything, it feels too heavy to be that. but you can feel this thing moving, like a spider. over the years, christina's had a lot of help but not housing first. housing first has been on the agenda in wales for years and several pilot projects have been run successfully. but it's not policy. i caught up with ministerjulie james at a housing conference.

the present situation is not fit for purpose and we need to rejig the system so we don't see people sleeping rough on the streets of cardiff. i think emotionally housing first sounds right but it's important to make sure we have all the practical details right and i don't want to be promising things to people as a golden rainbow and then find we cannot deliver them. it's april and the council outreach team are on the morning breakfast run. there are still plenty of people sleeping out. but for del it's a big day. this is your license agreement, you officially move in. then it's your keys. these are yours now. down here. it's the first proper home he's had for years. a long—term tenancy.

but it's still only temporary. bit of a blank canvas. i'll show you around. bathroom. big bath, shower. how important is it to you to get your own place? you would not believe it, i'm so happy. you look it! been a long time waiting. same with my little boy, maybe know i can see about getting some access to him as well, this is going to be massive. and todd has also managed to negotiate the staircase system, he has his own room at the hoguard hostel. it's been about ten days now. things are coming together. i feel a lot better in myself. i'm very institutionalised. just through the lifestyle i've led and the length of time i've spent in and out of prison. i find it hard to cope with day—to—day things to be

honest with you. it's time to change. it's may, summertime. as the weather improves, stories on the homeless have fallen down the headlines. but the tents are still here, just not on the streets. over the months we filmed, i've met people struggling to turn their lives around. but nobody we've spoken to can promise that next winter we won't see more tents back on our streets. it simply makes me sad that when i go to a new city, i'm not looking for the tourist attractions, nice buildings, i always see the people sleeping on the streets and it makes me sad because we are living in a modern, civilised, western world. and you think it is solvable? it's completely solvable, yes. five months on, has anything

changed for those we met on the streets of cardiff? everyone has to do the cycle before you get housed, doesn't matter which bubble or background you come from, you have to go through the circle to get a home. no matter who you are. look at me now. massive difference. this place has helped a lot for me. from when i was out on the streets, sitting down, to sitting down on a sofa in my own flat. it's a massive difference. the temptation was too much. i smoked it and my head went. i have no recollection

of my actions. next step for me now is... cheers, bye. it's been a much cooler day to day across northern ireland and scotland. yesterday in scotland we had temperatures in the low 20s but today temperatures have been struggling underneath a thick layer of cloud. we have also had outbreaks of cloud. we have also had outbreaks of rain. the rado picture picking up wet weather. further south we have heavy showers break out,

particularly across central parts. the clouds looking like this through the because of the afternoon across oxfordshire. overnight most of those showers will fade away and we will be left with a dry weather, clearing skies, a few mist and fog patches. always more in the way of cloud for northern ireland and scotland where there will be some patches of rain running through. full sunday it will be quite a cloudy day. the cloud braking to give a few sunny intervals but heavy showers particularly in the afternoon. for many areas it is a cloudy start to the day, rain pestering parts of northern ireland and a few showers coming into western scotland but later in the day we will see those shower clouds grow and become heavy and potentially thundery. the lion's share of the showers across scotland in the eastern areas and high ground. some of those slow moving

but given a bit more sunshine, temperatures up to 15 or 16 degrees. similar in northern ireland with the risk of showers then we have this light of slow—moving downpours across central and eastern areas of england as well. these are bringing some hefty downpours later in the day. over the next few days, as we start the new week, a mixture of sunshine and showers continuing, those shower slow—moving but later it turns windier and we may see low pressure moved in to threaten some rain. monday is largely dry. cloud breaking to give some spells of sunshine and some heavy, slow moving thundery showers. some will be quite intense. temperatures up a little bit, highs of 17 degrees in edinburgh and i9 bit, highs of 17 degrees in edinburgh and 19 for cardiff and 20 in london. showers to start of the week for sure. later in the week it will turn reason with the threat of some rain for some of us.

this is bbc world news today. i'm martin stanford. our top stories. the austrian chancellor calls a snap election hours after his far—right deputy resigns over corruption allegations. a surprise election victory for australia's governing centre right coalition, led by scott morrison i'm standing here with the three biggest miracles of my life here tonight and tonight we've been delivered another one! cheering prince william opens up about losing his mother diana, princess of wales in an interview with the bbc. i think when you are bereaved at a very young age,

any time really, but particularly