On Tuesday 02 September, the All-Party Group on Ending Homelessness released an important new report, ‘Homes, Support, Prevention – Our Foundations for Ending Homelessness’.
Homeless Link welcomes the report, which backs a number of reforms we and our members have been advocating for several years. This includes a fundamental reset of the homelessness funding model and a new cross-departmental approach to homelessness prevention.
Other central policy changes called for in the document include permanently linking Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to the lowest 30% of local rents, and national coordinated support for Housing First. These two measures are widely recognised by Homeless Link, our members, and wider sector experts as potentially transformative interventions in our shared mission to end homelessness.
Speaking about the need for cross-government action on homelessness prevention, Homeless Link Head of Policy and Research Sophie Boobis states in the report:
“There must be a shared responsibility for prevention across government with preventative measures being taken wherever the causes of homelessness are appearing.”
Elsewhere, Sophie notes that the current inefficient homelessness funding model “has pushed many of the smaller specialist providers to the limit,” putting extreme pressures on the financial viability of high-quality support services.
A number of Homeless Link members are also quoted within the report with reference to their areas of expertise. This includes Single Homeless Project and akt evidence on the value of more personalised services for minoritised groups, Oasis Community Housing on the positive impact of introducing trauma-informed care, and the Riverside Group on the success of their Sefton Families scheme.
Commending the report, Homeless Link CEO Rick Henderson commented:
“This publication comes at a vital moment as the Government continues to develop a promised new Homelessness Strategy. We thank the All-Party Parliamentary Group for their tireless advocacy on behalf of all people affected by homelessness.”
“And we urge Ministers – including the yet-to-be-appointed new Homelessness Minister – to take careful account of the evidence presented in this report, as it outlines a number of policy solutions with a proven track record of ending homelessness.”
You can read the full report on the Crisis website.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) is a collection of MPs and peers from across Parliament with a shared interested in eradicating homelessness. Crisis provide the Secretariat to the APPG on Ending Homelessness and supported the publication of this report. Homeless Link is a member of the APPG Steering Group.
