We have time to turn things around on homelessness

However, we have time to turn things around, so long as there is the political will to do so.

The upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) and the cross-government strategy for ending homelessness being published this year are huge opportunities for the government to rethink our approach. We should move away from an over-reliance on temporary accommodation to one that prioritises access to a safe and secure home, and that gets us back on track to ending homelessness as per the manifesto.

The APPG for Ending Homelessness has developed three pillars, as part of our series of roundtables we had with MPs, peers and experts across the homelessness sector, including lived-experience experts. We believe any government strategy should be based on these. They are:

1. Rapidly rehousing people in safe, settled and genuinely affordable homes with appropriate support. 

2. Urgent support to tackle the worst forms of homelessness. 

3. Preventing homelessness before it occurs. 

However, any strategy must have adequate funding behind it, which is why the upcoming CSR will be critical to success. As an APPG, we developed a set of spending asks we think will be key to ensuring the success of the strategy.

“We need a systemic review with a view to developing ring-fenced, cross-departmental funding to prevent homelessness”

First, and perhaps most obviously, making sure everyone can afford a home is vital. In the long term, that means delivering on the promise of a new generation of social homes. Experts agree this needs to reach 90,000 homes per year to meet our needs.

In the short term, we need to make sure that Local Housing Allowance meets the real cost of renting, by linking it to the cheapest 30% of rental homes.

Second, we need a systemic review in support of the Inter-Ministerial Group on homelessness, with a view to developing ring-fenced, cross-departmental funding to prevent homelessness. For example, each year, 4,000 people are discharged from hospital on to the streets. This needs to stop, but it will not until departments have clear routes to prevention funding.

Additionally, as an APPG, we believe promoting Housing First is integral to successfully putting an end to homelessness. Throughout the roundtables, our APPG was presented with evidence on the efficacy of Housing First, from small-scale projects like Sefton Families, to broader systemic approaches like we have seen in Greater Manchester.

More funding needs to be available for programmes like this, which prioritise quick access to settled housing, combined with ongoing support for people to stay in their home if they need it. This approach has been effective internationally, and needs to be a north star for our services.

Finally, we need to spend money more effectively. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has called our current expenditure on temporary accommodation “the costs of failure”. The National Audit Office stated in evidence to the APPG that the vast majority of local authorities’ spending on homelessness (£1.6bn out of £2.4bn in 2022-23) was going on temporary accommodation.

This hurts life chances and health; at the most extreme end, it was found to have contributed to the deaths of 74 children in the past five years.

“Through preventing people from becoming homeless and sustainably moving them out of homelessness quickly, we will build a better country for all and reduce spending on sticking-plaster solutions”

Utilising empty homes would be an extremely cost-effective way to tackle homelessness. In England, 265,000 homes have been empty for over six months, representing a significant yet underutilised resource in addressing housing supply shortages. Bringing these houses into use to address the current crisis would not only be a cost-effective way to tackle the issue but, crucially, it would also be a time-effective solution.

Through preventing people from becoming homeless and sustainably moving them out of homelessness quickly, we will build a better country for all and reduce spending on sticking-plaster solutions that are only going to get more expensive. We need to be investing to create more effective services that can deliver on the vision set out by the government.

If the political will is there and the government does seize the opportunity with the CSR and forthcoming strategy on ending homelessness, then we really do have the chance to finally put an end to the horrors of homelessness. If not, the APPG will continue to apply pressure to ensure the government begins to take this emergency seriously.

Together, we can build a future where everyone has a safe and secure home.

Paula Barker, MP for Liverpool Wavertree, and co-chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ending Homelessness