ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

Time for action

England needs a new law so homeless people can get the help they need, says Jon Sparkes

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard

Homeless

Source: Shutterstock

When it comes to homelessness, England is fast becoming the ‘sick man’ of Britain.

Since 2010, rough sleeping has more than doubled, while the latest figures show that between October and December last year, the number of households accepted as homeless rose by 6% across England and by 10% in London compared to the previous year.

Yet in Wales and Scotland the picture is very different. So is it time for England to look to its neighbours for solutions?

As the situation in England reaches crisis proportions, Wales has been undergoing a quiet revolution in the way it tackles homelessness.

At the start of 2015, the Welsh Government introduced a new legal duty to prevent or relieve homelessness that has transformed the way help is offered to homeless people. While the legislation is by no means perfect, new figures released this week provide early indications of success.

According to the latest figures for homelessness in Wales, where councils intervened to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place, they were successful in two-thirds of cases. Alongside that, we’ve seen a drop of two-thirds in the number of people formally accepted as homeless. This is clear progress, particularly when compared to the situation in England.

“If the UK government is serious about homelessness, we need a change in the law so that all homeless people can get the help they need.”

At Crisis we’ve long been calling for similarly bold action to change the law in England, and we were pleased to see some positive signals in the Budget, which announced that £110m would be directed to helping people off the streets and out of hostels. But we cannot tackle homelessness with money alone.

Unfortunately, the law in England means that single homeless people who go to their councils for help are often turned away to sleep on the streets – cold, desperate and forgotten.

If the UK government is serious about homelessness, we need a change in the law so that all homeless people can get the help they need.

With all forms of homelessness on the rise, now is the time for action. The government has already made a commitment to consider options – including legislation – to prevent more people from becoming homeless, and we strongly urge them to follow through on this and make sure that councils have the necessary funding to make it work.

We have a huge task ahead of us, and many of the underlying causes remain: more and more people are struggling to pay their rent in an increasingly insecure market, while cuts to housing benefit and local council funding have left the safety net in tatters. A change in the law isn’t a cure-all, but it will put England on a much better track than the one it’s on now.

Homelessness isn’t inevitable. We’re already seeing significant improvements in Wales, while in Scotland we’re talking about the possibility of ending homelessness within a generation. It’s time for England to catch up.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive, Crisis


READ MORE

Homelessness rises 6% in a yearHomelessness rises 6% in a year
In the roughIn the rough
Increase in number of rough sleepers in LondonIncrease in number of rough sleepers in London
Rough sleeping increase in LondonRough sleeping increase in London
Rough sleeping soars 30% in a yearRough sleeping soars 30% in a year

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.