The government needs to step up for abandoned young homeless people

They have inherited the “worst set of economic circumstances since the second world war”, along with discriminatory policies that essentially punish some of the most vulnerable people in our society rather than support them.

There’s also the matter of the previous government’s systematic underfunding of local councils, which led to several declaring bankruptcy in the past year and others warning this could be on the cards for them, too, without serious reform.

Chronic underfunding has seriously limited what councils can deliver. Centrepoint’s latest Youth Homelessness Databank figures show that demand for local authority support from young people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness is far outstripping their capacity to prevent or relieve homelessness.

“Why are so many young people being left unassessed, you might ask? The reasons will never be clear unless the government mandates for this information to be recorded and released”

Through our databank research, we found that a record number of young people are reaching out to their local councils for help because they are homeless or at risk of it – almost 136,000 in 2022-23.

We also estimated that over 40,000 young people in England who approached local authorities for support last year weren’t even assessed, despite the legal duty on councils to assess anyone they believe could be experiencing, or be at risk of experiencing, homelessness.

Why are so many young people being left unassessed, you might ask? The reasons will never be clear unless the government mandates for this information to be recorded and released. What we do know is that many young people are being turned away from support wrongly, in what is known as ‘gatekeeping’. 

Our helpline has taken calls from more than 400 young people in the past year because their councils have wrongly decided not to help them. One young person was wrongly deemed as intentionally homeless after escaping domestic violence. Another was told that ongoing physical abuse from a parent was normal, so they were not considered as being in “priority need”.

Difficult decisions around who is and is not in priority need should not have to be made, but this is the reality for many local authorities. Budgets have not kept pace with demand for support, forcing councils to make these decisions. A shortage of social housing has also led to an extortionate amount of money being spent on placing households in expensive temporary accommodation, further restricting councils’ already limited budgets.

These circumstances have not only left councils footing huge bills, they have also left many who have reached out for help with no support – and it is evident from our research that young people are often harmed as a result.

The picture is incredibly bleak, but Labour has an opportunity to reverse the mistakes of the previous government and show that it is truly committed to ending homelessness.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be waiting to hear details of the cross-government strategy to end homelessness Labour pledged in its manifesto. In the interim, it would be remiss to not talk about what we want to see. 

“We would like to see Labour build at least 90,000 social homes a year, a significant proportion of which should be one-bedroom properties – with development based on local needs”

For one, councils should be given adequate funding to fulfil their legal duties and assess and support every person who reaches out for help. Centrepoint research has estimated that councils in England need an additional £332m a year to assess and support young people facing homelessness. This is only a fraction of the overall multimillion-pound homelessness budget but could help stem the flow.

On housing, we were pleased to hear the chancellor reaffirm Labour’s commitment to “get Britain building again”. However, we await more details on the future of social housing. This will be a particularly important moment for the 1.29 million households on social housing waiting lists who are struggling to move on from temporary accommodation or supported housing.

We would like to see Labour build at least 90,000 social homes a year, a significant proportion of which should be one-bedroom properties – with development based on local needs. For almost a decade, more than 45% of households on waiting lists have not been entitled to larger properties and many of these applicants will be single young people hoping to escape homelessness.

Ultimately, we cannot end homelessness without firm commitments to adequately resource the very services that are supposed to prevent and relieve it, alongside a strong stock of genuinely affordable housing.

The coming months and years will be crucial for the new government, and we look forward to working with them to end homelessness for good.

Tom Kerridge, policy and research manager, Centrepoint