Getting everyone in for Christmas is a crowd pleaser, and will galvanise the homelessness sector and local partners, but the scheme misses some bigger-picture thinking, writes Fiona Colley, Homeless Link's Director of Social Change, in an article for Inside Housing.
Just over a month into his new job and Andy Burnham is indeed following through on his first instruction as prime minister – his pledge to end rough sleeping – which was met with huge optimism from the homelessness sector.
The major announcement last week that everyone sleeping rough is to be offered a route off the streets this winter if they need it, backed by a boosted £442m funding package and a national cross-sector summit in the autumn, is a bold first step towards his goal.
I’m really pleased to see the ongoing personal ambition and commitment from Mr Burnham, and there are lots of things to welcome here.
For one, the government’s recognition that alongside emergency accommodation, they need to offer people the practical support around health and other needs that will help them to leave homelessness behind.
There also appears to be an understanding that this must move towards long-term accommodation and support if we are to truly end rough sleeping for good.
Also notable and extremely welcome is that the critical role and expertise of the voluntary and community sector is fully acknowledged by the government, with the introduction of a national summit to bring together leaders from across society to collaborate on shaping this work.
However, we definitely don’t yet have enough in place to meet the scale of the prime minister’s ambition, and the new scheme threw up some areas where we risk the bigger picture being missed.
We must be clear that this programme is a crisis response and the long-term solutions must come next, without which we won’t see sustainable change.
What we do not need is thousands of people stuck in communal night shelters – a solution used in the past that the sector has worked hard to move away from.
We need to unlock housing options at a much more ambitious scale: from increasing affordable housing, to bolstering all forms of supported housing, to rolling out Housing First across the country.
Self-contained accommodation has proven to be more effective in supporting vulnerable individuals, providing safety and security.
And as with any emergency intervention, it is only intended to be short term, so we will need to be swift at ensuring the availability of enough suitable move-on options.
Returning to that bigger picture, which must include preventing and ending all forms of homelessness, long-term accommodation and person-centred support is key. The 1,000 new settled homes promised are a start, but won’t go far enough to meet the level of demand.
We need to unlock housing options at a much more ambitious scale: from increasing affordable housing, to bolstering all forms of supported housing, to rolling out Housing First across the country.
A sustainable solution means a variety of options to support the diverse needs of all those experiencing homelessness.
Equally importantly, much more substantial changes are needed on joined-up funding, commissioning and prevention approaches to transform the homelessness system into one that is sustainable and fit for purpose.
I was slightly concerned to read the line in the press release – “with everyone pulling in the same direction at a local level to make real change backed by funding at a national level”. This risks missing the need for genuine national cross-departmental collaboration and accountability to prevent and end homelessness
Local areas alone cannot solve this. We know that far too often policies made at a national level lead to an increase in people experiencing homelessness, for instance being discharged from hospitals, prisons or the asylum system on to the streets.
We also need to address crises in the health and social care system. Our members up and down the country talk about struggling to access critical social care support, or substance misuse and mental health services for their clients.
While this new funding intends to solve the immediate crisis, we now need to switch to a long-term view of the way services are funded and commissioned cross-sector, ending the one-off, short-term funding announcements.
It is still the case that services work in silos too often, with responsibility pushed on to the homelessness sector, when multi-agency collaborative support is the key to helping people live well.
While this new funding intends to solve the immediate crisis, we now need to switch to a long-term view of the way services are funded and commissioned cross-sector, ending the one-off, short-term funding announcements.
This is something that Homeless Link has been campaigning on for a long time now and will be transformational if done effectively.
The government’s new programme is ambitious, but it is not the whole answer and there will not be an easy fix.
What comes next will require arguably even bolder action to transform funding and shift an entire system from one trapped in crisis, to one rooted in prevention and long-term housing and support.
It will require strong leadership from the prime minister and every part of national government pulling together to end homelessness for good.
