Florence Eshalomi has been appointed the government’s new homelessness minister, tasked with helping Andy Burnham deliver his pledge to tackle rough sleeping.
The Vauxhall and Camberwell Green MP was confirmed as the new minister of state for homelessness and rough sleeping by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
She is the eighth homelessness minister to hold the post in eight years, taking over from Alison McGovern, who became social care minster after Burnham took power in July.
Eshalomi has personal experience of homelessness, having grown up in temporary accommodation with her mother and two younger sisters.
The family lived in a house in Brixton, south London, that was riddled with damp and mould, as well as a B&B in King’s Cross.
‘I know what a difference it makes when you have a safe place to live, people around you who care about you, and the chance to plan for the future,’ Eshalomi said. ‘I also know how much harder life can be when you don’t! But when people get the right support at the right time, it can be life changing.
‘When I look at the issues I’m working on across housing, communities and local government, I see a common thread. Whether it’s tackling rough sleeping, supporting faith communities or bringing people together across different backgrounds, it comes back to making sure people feel valued and part of something bigger than themselves.’
Previously, Eshalomi chaired the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, where she held ministers to account over policies related to housing and homelessness.
The latest government data shows 135,580 households, including 177,530 children, were living in temporary accommodation in England as of March this year – the highest figure on record.
However, the quarterly statistics revealed a fall in the number of households applying for support to prevent or relieve homelessness. The number of families living in B&Bs beyond the legal limit of six weeks also fell by 16.7%.
Despite those improvements, Labour’s own snapshot shows 4,793 people were recorded as sleeping rough across England on a single night in autumn 2025. Not only is this statistic the highest recorded on record, but it is considered to an underestimate of the true figure.
Commenting on the news of Eshalomi’s new position, Rick Henderson, CEO of Homeless Link, said: ‘Florence is someone with a strong track record of working closely with all organisations committed to ending homelessness, and we are really looking forward to continuing to collaborate with her in her new role as Minister for Homelessness.’
‘The new Minister will know better than most the scale of the challenge ahead. Record numbers in temporary accommodation. Extremely high levels of people sleeping rough,’ he added. ‘All causing untold damage to people’s lives, health, and future.
‘But having spoken with so many of our members over the years, Florence will also know that the commitment and expertise of frontline services means change is possible. The raised ambitions of government in recent weeks have been extremely welcome. To turn those ambitions into action, government now needs to empower and resource those frontline services.’
Image: ©House of Commons/Laurie Noble
In related news:
Leave a Reply