Emmaus UK has signed an open letter calling on Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss to take action on homelessness if elected as the next Prime Minister.
The letter, signed by 28 organisations from across the housing and homelessness sector, was co-ordinated and sent by Homeless Link on Tuesday 23rd August.
It calls on the victorious leadership candidate to pledge to continue to strive to meet the Conservative manifesto commitment of ending rough sleeping in England by 2024 and to publish a strategy by the end of 2022 to outline how they plan to achieve this.
It also calls on Truss or Sunak to ensure the full list of reforms outlined in the recent White Paper; ‘A fairer private rented sector’ is brought forward as legislation when parliament returns in September, including fulfilling the manifesto pledge of ending ‘no fault’ Section 21 evictions.
The letter is sent at a time when inflation in the UK has risen to 10.1%, a forty-year high. At the same time private sector rents are at record levels and are predicted to rise further and many homelessness services are reporting an increase in people needing their services.
Charlotte Talbott, Chief Executive of Emmaus UK, said: “It is disappointing that we have heard so little from either candidate on what their plans are to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. This is more important than ever at a time when so many people are struggling with the increased cost of living, with many facing an increased risk of homelessness.
“So much is being done by the charity sector to support people facing or experiencing homelessness, but our work alone can’t tackle this issue. We need to know that our new prime minister will take forward the Conservative party commitment to end rough sleeping by 2024 and will ensure ending homelessness is a high priority in the future.