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A homelessness strategy that breaks the cycle of crisis
We need an ambitious, resourced vision of what a cross-government system to end homelessness would look like, writes Sophie Boobis, head of policy at Homeless Link
Sophie Boobis is head of research at Homeless Link
We need an ambitious, resourced vision of what a cross-government system to end homelessness would look like, writes Sophie Boobis, head of policy at Homeless Link #UKhousingWorld Homelessness Day marks almost one year since the government took the welcome step of establishing an inter-ministerial group on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.
Chaired by the then-deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, and tasked with developing a new homelessness strategy, the group’s creation felt like an overdue acknowledgment that ending homelessness takes co-ordinated work by all arms of government.
Almost 12 months on, with homelessness levels continuing to rise, and the strategy itself yet to emerge, the need for that cross-government co-ordination couldn’t be clearer.
Homeless Link’s new Breaking the Cycle briefing sets out what the homelessness strategy must do to address the emergency we face and to start building a country free from homelessness.
Breaking the Cycle builds on our Reset Homelessness campaign, launched in late 2024 with Inside Housing, which called on the chancellor to use the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) to fundamentally reimagine homelessness spending.
“Spending remains focused on expensive, short-term crisis management measures. This further squeezes funding for both prevention and support services with proven records of delivering long-term resolutions”
There were positives in the CSR, including commitments to building new social housing and limited new investment in prevention. There have also been positive indications that we’re heading to a more consolidated, ring-fenced funding model for homelessness within local government finances. But there was nothing to fundamentally break the costly cycle of crisis that has led us to record levels of homelessness.
Spending remains focused on expensive, short-term crisis management measures. As the number of people facing homelessness grows, this further squeezes funding for both prevention and support services with proven records of delivering long-term resolutions. The task of breaking this cycle then falls to the group crafting the new homelessness strategy.
Whatever the CSR’s shortcomings, it provides short-term clarity on funding. Consequently, we’re recommending a two-stage approach to achieving a country without homelessness.
In this funding cycle – the next three years – the focus must be stabilisation. That means ending the dual crisis of rising homelessness and support services closing due to financial pressures.
Across the next 10 years, the strategy should set out an ambitious, resourced vision of what a cross-government system to end homelessness would look like.
This is not a case of a sticking plaster now and long-term plan later. The immediate emergency interventions we need are also the foundations for building a country free from homelessness.
“Not only is homelessness rising, but we are losing the tools that support people in moving beyond homelessness”
Not only is homelessness rising, but we are losing the tools that support people in moving beyond homelessness. Housing First is one of the most successful interventions when it comes to resolving homelessness in the long term, but the number of Housing First places in England is in decline.
Specialist supported housing is also under unprecedented financial pressures due to a combination of new regulation and a funding system which simply doesn’t recognise the value it delivers in preventing and resolving homelessness.
Failing to fund solutions to homelessness is not even a short-term saving. Costs are simply moved to other branches of government – whether that’s the NHS to deal with the consequences of rough sleeping, or local authorities to fund more temporary accommodation.
This brings us back to the role of the inter-ministerial group. Assessing the costs of and spending on homelessness on a cross-departmental basis will give a much clearer picture of the most effective and cost-effective interventions.
In the long term, a measure of the group’s success would be embedding real accountability across all levels of government for ending and preventing homelessness.
The challenges I’ve described also contain seeds of hope for the future. Yes, homelessness support services are under extreme pressure, but England retains a substantial amount of supported housing, innovative practice, a skilled workforce and world-leading research on how to address homelessness.
Incoming regulations as currently proposed threaten to push good accommodation providers out of business. But done right and accompanied by the right levels of investment, regulation can incentivise best practice.
We’ve even seen hints of what real cross-departmental working can deliver. Prior to the Home Office’s sudden, mistaken decision to revert to a 28-day asylum accommodation move-on period, the 56-day move-on period pilot was a prime example of a successful cross-government intervention to support homelessness prevention.
Imagine the potential if other government departments took policy decisions with the explicit aim of reducing homelessness. How the NHS could utilise community health services, the different decisions the Treasury could make on Local Housing Allowance rates, and how the welfare system could be mobilised to keep people in long-term secure homes.
This isn’t simply wishful thinking. The last Labour government reduced rough sleeping by two-thirds in two years. Almost 30 years on, the challenges are different. But the evidence is there that with co-ordinated action – and the political courage to see reforms through – members of the inter-ministerial group can leave a huge legacy: a generational shift towards ending homelessness for good.
Sophie Boobis, head of policy, Homeless Link
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