Last updated: 12 September 2022
In the Autumn 2017 Budget, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced the launch of a regional Housing First pilot programme, with £28 million of funding.
The scheme aims to develop the evidence base on delivering Housing First at scale in England by funding, and robustly evaluating, three pilots in the Greater Manchester, Liverpool and West Midlands combined authority regional areas, with a view to informing future decisions.
The extensive evaluation programme, which captures learning about the delivery of the pilots as well as their impact, is being undertaken by a consortium of research organisations. Homeless Link is part of this consortium; reviewing each pilot’s fidelity to the key principles over time and helping to develop a practical toolkit, from evidence collected, on setting up and delivering Housing First at scale.
We view the programme as an excellent opportunity to support greater numbers of people while increasing understanding of how we can best expand Housing First across the country.
This page collates the key publications relating to the pilots.
Government publications
Evaluation of the Housing First Pilots: Third Process Report, September 2022: The report is based on interviews and focus groups across the three Pilots and includes a fidelity review, overseen by Homeless Link’s Research Team, which examines their adherence to the Housing First principles.
Evaluation of the Housing First Pilots: Second Process Evaluation Report, July 2021: Second evaluation from the three pilots. For the first time the evaluation engaged with 29 participants across the three areas. Findings are centred on their experiences and progress.
Mobilising Housing First toolkit: from planning to early implementation, February 2021: Aims to provide information for those looking to implement Housing First at a local or regional level. It is based largely on experience and practice observed through the evaluation of the pilot programme, and will be updated as further learning and good practice emerges.
Evaluation of the Housing First Pilots: Interim Process Evaluation Report, December 2020: Key learning and recommendations for both central government and sub-nationally, based on formative visits to each pilot and the first round of qualitative fieldwork. Findings are centred on pilot development, preparation and early delivery.
Effects of the pandemic on the Housing First Pilots and service users, December 2020: Evidence on the experience of delivering the Housing First pilots during the Covid-19 pandemic. It sets out reflections from pilot staff and from service users about the challenges involved in adapting service delivery and the key lessons learnt.
The three regional pilots
You can find out more about each pilot on their individual websites:
Greater Manchester Housing First | Twitter account