Labour announced it’s national homelessness strategy promising major investment and a focus on prevention to reduce rough sleeping across England.
Yesterday (10th December) the government published it’s long-awaited homeless strategy, setting a target to halve long-term rough sleeping within three years. The plan, first promised in Labour’s manifesto, outlines how £3.5bn will be invested in prevention and supported over the same period.
Ministers said the approach shifts focus towards stopping people losing their homes. New legislation will require public bodies to work together to prevent homelessness, with specific goals for people leaving prison, hospitals and social care for the first time.
The government also plans to end the illegal use of B&Bs for families in temporary accommodation – a topic we have reported on within the last week. It will direct £950m from the local authority housing fun to build 5,000 temporary homes of what it calls ‘high- quality’ standards.
‘Homelessness is one of the most profound challenges we face as a society, because at the heart, it’s about people,’ housing secretary Steve Reed, said. ‘Families deserve stability, children need a safe place to grow and individuals simply want the dignity of a home.
‘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.’
Arguably this strategy couldn’t have come at a more necessary time. The latest figures show more than 172,000 children live in temporary accommodation, and the number of people sleeping rough increased by 20% between autumn 2023 and 2024. What’s more, councils spent £2.8bn on temporary accommodation in 2024-25.
Homelessness minister Alison McGovern said the ‘prize is big’ in reducing both human harm and financial pressure. ‘Right now, taxpayers are paying the price of failure, with temporary accommodation costs skyrocketing,’ she said. ‘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.’
The strategy also includes plans to introduce £124m for supported housing, £15m for innovation projects and £37m for community-based services – all with the aim that no one should become homeless after leaving a public institution.
Chief executive of Housing Justice, Bonnie Williams welcomed the investment but said the plan ‘could do with being a bit more ambitious.’ In similar vein, chief executive of Crisis, Matt Downie warned that frozen housing benefits and the absence of guaranteed social housing could limit progress, adding the strategy ‘has some important gaps’.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation and member of the Homeless and Rough Sleeping Expert Group, also welcomed the news of the new strategy, however she noted that ‘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,’ Kate continued. ‘The sector is committed to working in partnership with the government to build on the opportunities this strategy provides and find solutions to the challenges facing supported housing providers so that they’re able to fulfil their role in reducing homelessness and help end it for good.’
Image: Levi Meir Clancy/UnSplash
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