The government’s long awaited national homelessness strategy has been widely welcomed, but there are concerns that it doesn’t quite go far enough to tackle the chronic problems.
Three key pledges sit at the heart of the National Plan to End Homelessness. The first is to halve the number of long-term rough sleepers. The second aims to end the “unlawful use” of B&Bs for families, while the third sets out to prevent more households from becoming homeless in the first place.
Under these key pillars, the strategy will include a duty on public services to work together to prevent homelessness, alongside what the Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) says will be “clear, ambitious goals for lasting change”. The strategy also promises a boost to the supply of good quality temporary homes.
Aspects of the strategy effectively codify previous housing announcements under the banner of ending homelessness. It also comes with £3.5bn of investment over the next three years to support rough sleeping and support services. Again, the lion’s share of this has been previously announced.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: ”Homelessness is one of the most profound challenges we face as a society, because at the heart, it’s about people. Families deserve stability, children need a safe place to grow, and individuals simply want the dignity of a home.
“This strategy is shaped by the voices of those who’ve lived through homelessness and the frontline workers who fight tirelessly to prevent it.
“Through our new strategy we can build a future where homelessness is rare, brief, and not repeated. With record investment, new duties on public services, and a relentless focus on accountability, we will turn ambition into reality.”
Alison McGovern, the homelessness minister, added: “Everyone deserves a roof over their head. And for those experiencing the worst of homelessness right now – our children – they deserve a place to play and a bedroom to do their homework in. It’s our collective responsibility to make that a reality, for anyone at risk of homelessness, be it sofa-surfing or getting stuck on the streets.
“By working together including government, local leaders, charities, and communities, we can stop homelessness before it happens and ensure that when people do fall into crisis, support is swift and effective.
“The prize is big. Right now, taxpayers are paying the price of failure, with temporary accommodation costs skyrocketing. And the next generation of British young people can’t succeed without the space they need. This strategy sets us on a better path – to save money and change lives.”
A matter of resource
Fine words from the ministers, but resources will be a key issue in making or breaking the homelessness strategy, according to industry figures.
While welcome, the strategy presents gaps, and is far from perfect. From welfare policy, to the availability of social housing, and adequate funding of key support services, there’s plenty of potholes in the road to ending homelessness.
Nevertheless, Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s has called the strategy a “watershed moment” that offers the “start of a blueprint” to end homelessness and rough sleeping for good.
“There is no time to lose, we hope the strategy will galvanise decisive action from the whole system,” she added. “The strategy is not perfect and there are areas where the government has already made choices that make ending homelessness harder.
“We will continue to press for better. The failure to unfreeze Local Housing Allowance in the Budget was a missed opportunity and one that should be urgently revisited. The strategy, rightly, makes clear that the homelessness crisis is deep and won’t be resolved quickly. It is, however, a solid step forward.”
Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, said: “Past failures of government to work collaboratively have undermined efforts to reduce homelessness, so the introduction of new legal duties for branches of government to work together on ending and preventing homelessness is a positive step …
“Resourcing is also critical. The new funding is welcome, as always, considering the extremely strained financial situation of many homelessness support and prevention services. But more fundamental changes are needed to the homelessness funding model to ensure the sustainability of crucial services like supported housing and rough sleeping support that offer a lifeline to vulnerable people.”
Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “Homelessness is an intolerable injustice that prevents far too many people from realising their potential. [This] strategy is a step in the right direction with much to be applauded, but it does have some important gaps.
“The strategy rightly recognises we all need to play a part if we’re to tackle homelessness. For too long people have been discharged from public institutions into homelessness, and so the new commitments to stop this happening as people leave hospital and prison are very welcome.
“However, to guarantee that homelessness numbers fall, this strategy needs more from other parts of government that address its root causes. Housing benefit remains frozen until at least 2030; there is no coherent approach for supporting refugees and stopping them becoming homeless; and we hear no assurances that the new homes government has pledged to build will be allocated to households experiencing homelessness at the scale required.”
He added: “Ministers are taking steps in the right direction – but falling short of what’s desperately needed to end Britain’s homelessness crisis.”
Councillor Tom Hunt, chair of the Local Government Association’s Inclusive Growth Committee, called the strategy “ambitious” and its goal “admirable”.
“There is still a lot of work to be done to deliver this, and the government needs to ensure that councils are sufficiently funded and empowered to do so,” he added.
“Specifically, the government must ensure there is greater accountability to ensure all stakeholders are involved and incentivised to prevent homelessness, ensure that these goals can be delivered, foster collaboration between partners and have evidence-based policy underpinning this.”
Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, welcomed the strategy, but warned that “bolder action” is needed to “turn the tide and ensure everyone has a safe, secure home”. He also indicated that the strategy could come unstuck through a lack of social housing.
“We’re pleased to see targets to halve long-term rough sleeping, end B&B use for families, and introduce a new duty for public services to prevent homelessness,” he said. “However, the strategy misses key issues: growing affordability pressures in the private rented sector and the lack of solutions for refugees facing homelessness.
“Government is rightly investing in new affordable homes but they will take time to deliver. Families need help now. With too few social homes, many can only move on if they can afford private rent – which is why unfreezing housing benefit is essential.”
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation and member of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Expert Group, said: “With record numbers of families and children homeless and growing up in temporary accommodation, the government’s homelessness strategy is an important recognition of the urgency of the crisis facing this country …
“We’re pleased the government has recognised the role of supported housing in reducing homelessness by dedicating funding to support some of those with the most complex needs. However, not-for-profit supported housing providers have faced significant cuts to funding for support services, despite increasing costs, and demand for their services increasing. The country now faces a significant shortfall of supported homes.
“A financially viable and sustainable supported housing sector is integral to solving this crisis.”
Dave Robinson, assistant director of operations at Riverside, said: “We are really heartened to see the government putting prevention at the heart of the new plan.
“Data shows that more than 15,000 people in 2024/25 needed support to relieve or prevent homelessness after departure from a public institution so this measure is long overdue. Increased collaboration is vital if we want to increase the rate of prevention to protect thousands of more people from becoming homeless from an institution.
“At a time when councils spent £2.8bn a year on temporary accommodation the government will need to increase the supply of social housing further, increase funding for supported housing and homelessness services again and not forgetting the valuable contribution floating support makes in all of this.
“Supported housing providers are crying out for more funding to keep their doors open. Last year, a survey of NHF members showed one in three supported housing providers had to close schemes in the previous 12 months because of funding pressures, and three in five were planning to close schemes in the future.
“While we warmly welcome this new funding, we hope to see a speedy resolution to the Treasury’s value for money review on homelessness and supported housing funding, so more supported housing schemes do not have to close their doors too.”
Image credit: Travers Lewis – Shutterstock
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