Over the last eighteen years, as the Supporting People ringfence ended, the Support to End Homelessness series has tracked how homelessness services are funded and how this has changed over time.
Since the lifting of the Supporting People ringfence in 2008, the funding model of the sector has changed substantially.
There has been a remarkable drop off in the number of accommodation providers supporting people experiencing single homelessness who are funded primarily through their local authority.
Instead, there has been a steady rise in Housing Benefit as the main source of funding, with this taking over as the most dominant funding source in the sector in 2017.
- Housing benefit is the most commonly cited primary source of income for accommodation providers (54%), of which, 56% stated Enhanced Housing Benefit was their main source of income. This is followed by local authority commissioned contracts (35%).
- Since the end of the Supporting People ringfence in 2008 there has been a 2603% increase in Housing Benefit as the main funding source for homelessness accommodation providers and a 59% decrease in local authority commissioned contracts.
- Income for day centres is heavily reliant on fundraising, grants and philanthropy, with income from these sources being the main funding for 80% of providers. This is most commonly through grant funding (54%) and individual giving (22%).
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19% of accommodation providers
stated that their income had decreased since the previous year, with 52% stating there was no change to their income, and 28% reporting an increase.
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27% of day centres
stated that their income had decreased since the previous year, with 44% stating there was no change to their income, and 29% reporting an increase.
41% of accommodation providers and 46% of day centres reported that they risk service closures as a result of increased financial pressures, and 35% of accommodation providers stated that they have already reduced their provision.
