The government’s National Plan to End Homelessness is a welcome step in the right direction – but more needs to be done to protect supported housing providers in the long-term.
We welcome the launch of the government’s new homelessness strategy. With more than 380,000 people currently homeless in England alone, this strategy could not have come at a more critical time.
We’re pleased that the strategy recognises the importance of a holistic approach to both preventing and ending homelessness, as well as the vital role that lived experience and frontline expertise play in shaping workable solutions.
The government is bringing together different public services and departments that don’t always work together effectively, like housing, health, and justice.
Now we must see concrete action and genuine collaboration to make the strategy a reality – with these departments and public services held to account.
While the funding commitments in this strategy are welcome, we also need to see a longer-term plan for funding homelessness services and the supported housing sector, which does so much to support people with experience of homelessness but is facing severe financial challenges.
To truly tackle the housing crisis and make housing affordable, we also need to see the government build on its existing announcement of £39bn towards affordable housing over the next 10 years, and work towards 90,000 social rent homes being built per year, alongside the unfreezing of Local Housing Allowance so that more private rented homes are affordable.