Plans to end homelessness could unravel, Salvation Army warns

Homelessness and rough sleeping will soar if the government fails to properly fund support services, the Salvation Army has warned.

In a new report out today (12 August), the charity said the current pandemic will force families into expensive and unsuitable temporary accommodation, like bed and breakfast, as local authorities struggle to manage rising homelessness levels.

The report urges the government to use the upcoming comprehensive spending review (CSR) to begin implementing a new approach to investment in homelessness and rough sleeping.

For example, it says in addition to stabilising levels of investment over the course of the current parliament, ministers should look to introduce a simple fiscal rule that if rough sleeping figures are stable or increasing, investment cannot be reduced, or we risk undoing any progress made and people returning to the streets.

The report also says there needs to be a steady supply of suitable homes.

This includes large numbers of one-bedroom properties to ensure schemes like Housing First are sustainable and introducing a new Empty Homes Programmes for people with experience of rough sleeping and new construction techniques to improve the supply of modular homes.

‘It’s not too late to stop a massive increase in homelessness and rough sleeping caused by the current economic downturn,’ said the Salvation Army’s director of homelessness services, Lorrita Johnson.

‘Bold government moves like the furlough scheme, temporary protection from eviction and emergency accommodation for rough sleepers saved lives and ensured thousands still had a home.

‘However, our report demonstrates that if the government mirrors the austerity approach it took during the last economic crisis, there will be dire consequences for rough sleepers, private renters and the economy as a whole.

‘Our report Future-Proof the Roof outlines alternatives to the austerity measures that came into force post 2010 and could be reintroduced following the upcoming spending review. If they act now, the government will protect thousands of people from either returning to the streets and prevent many children being raised in cramped and unhealthy temporary accommodation.’

Commenting on the report, Iain Porter, policy and partnerships manager at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said: ‘To make sure everyone has a decent, affordable place to call home, the government must match its ambitious rhetoric on ending rough sleeping with the necessary resources to get the job done.  Increasing housing benefit levels to the lowest third of local rents was a good first step to protect private renters during the pandemic, and at a minimum the government should maintain this support to prevent more people being pushed into homelessness by high housing costs.

‘But to redesign our housing system so that it lifts people out of poverty, rather than drags them further down, we also need an ambitious plan for social housing. Even before the pandemic, working families were increasingly being swept into poverty by rising housing costs. Investment at scale in social housing would not only significantly increase the supply of homes for families on low incomes, it would also provide an effective boost to our economic recovery.’

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