Read an excerpt from the piece below.
“The strategy starts with a recognition from the secretary of state that “a good life, based on an affordable, secure and stable home, should be available to everyone in this country”. It sets out a strong analysis of what has gone wrong and how tackling homelessness needs action from central and local government, public services, mayors and the voluntary sector. It commits to prioritising prevention, recognising the best solution to homelessness is it not occurring in the first place. It rightly identifies a lack of housing and income are root causes of homelessness and therefore action to tackle poverty and building more social housing and ensuring formerly homeless households get access to it, are really important. As a charity supporting those working on the frontline we particularly welcome the recognition that key to helping someone out of homelessness is having a skilled, experienced and empathetic support worker and, therefore, we need to invest in their training and development.
The strategy includes specific commitments to halving those living long-term on the streets by the end of the parliament, ending the placement of families in B&Bs, improving the quality of and support in temporary accommodation, and stopping people having to sleep rough in the first place to get help. Some additional funding has been made available to support these actions, but it may well not be enough. And the ambition should be to go further and faster – the last Labour government reduced rough sleeping by two-thirds and halved the use of temporary accommodation. And during Covid, charities and government working together showed that with the right leadership and resources we could have a transformational impact.
Any strategy is only ever as good as its implementation. It has long been a scandal that people can be discharged from prisons and hospitals and end up homelessness, and so it’s welcome that the government is committing to tackle this. It will, however, take sustained leadership and resources to stop it happening in reality, particularly given all the challenges facing our prisons and health services.”