2024 Review of Services Addressing Single Homelessness in England

Support to End Homelessness 2024

For the past 17 years, Homeless Link has produced an annual review of the available support for single homelessness in England. Single homeless people are less likely than families to be to be entitled to housing from their local authority, and therefore often rely on homelessness charities for accommodation, advice and other forms of support. 

Support to End Homelessness 2024: A Review of Services Addressing Single Homelessness in England provides vital evidence of the support provided by these services to inform policy and practice. It is the only available data source of its kind on the homelessness sector in England.

The findings are based on four key data sources, including surveys of 204 accommodation providers and 40 day centres from across England, data from the Homeless England database, and national government statistics.

Key findings

Availability of homelessness services

• In 2024 there are 915 accommodation projects for single homeless people in England. This is a slight increase of 0.9% from last year, but is still 28% lower than a decade ago in 2014, and 47% lower than 2008 when this data series began.
• There are 33,249 bedspaces in England, a slight increase of 2% from 2023, but a 14% decrease from 2014, and a 43% decrease since 2008.
• With an increasing presentation of complex support needs in a context of overstretched funding, 81% of accommodation projects reported having to turn someone away from support because the clients’ needs were too high or too complex.
• A total of 173 day centres operate throughout England as of 2024. This is a slight increase in day centres compared to 2023 (168) and a return to 2022 levels (173).

Support needs and support services available

There is evidence that over the last few years the level and visibility of support needs of people accessing homelessness services has increased substantially.

• 79% of day centres, and 56% of accommodation providers saw an increase in people experiencing homelessness for the first time. Both day centres and accommodation providers also reported big increases in people experiencing homelessness whilst in employment, at 46% and 22% respectively.
• Mental health remained the most commonly reported support need amongst accommodation providers. 95% of accommodation providers and 100% of day centres are supporting residents with a history of diagnosed mental health conditions.
• Day centres also reported high levels of addiction related support needs, both drug dependency (100%) and alcohol addiction (100%), as well as dual diagnosis (95%).
• Access to mental health support remains the biggest barrier for both accommodation providers and day centres (100% and 92% respectively).

Funding

• Housing benefit is the most commonly cited primary source of income for accommodation providers (47%), followed by local authority commissioned contracts (46%).
• Since the end of the Supporting People ringfence in 2008 there has been a 2500% increase in Housing Benefit as the main funding source for homelessness accommodation providers and a 47% decrease in local authority commissioned contracts.
• Income for day centres is heavily reliant on fundraising, grants and philanthropy, with income from these sources the main source of funding for 60% of providers. This is most commonly through grant funding (26%) and individual giving (21%).
• 48% of accommodation providers and 46% of day centres reported that they risk service closures as a result of increased financial pressures, and 38% of accommodation providers stated they have already reduced their provision.

Move-on from accommodation 

• 39% (3,596) of people currently being accommodated are waiting to move on from their current provision into more secure, sustainable housing of which49% (1,752) of people have been waiting for six months or longer.
• Lack of available social housing (97%) and the lack of private rented sector (PRS) accommodation at Local Housing Allowance rate (75%), are the two main barriers to moving on from homeless accommodation.