Today (26 October 2026) Rick Henderson attended the Government's Homelessness Summit. Reflecting on both the summit and the Government's announcement of a further £432 million of funding to permanetly end rough sleeping, Rick commented,
"Giving people a route off the street this winter is an important, urgent and a daily priority for frontline homelessness services across the country. The Prime Minister’s pledge to lead these efforts has already given much needed political priority to tackling rough sleeping and breaking the cycle of the crisis of homelessness."
"Today’s summit will be judged in years to come if it’s seen as a turning point towards a more ambitious goal: a permanent end to all forms of homelessness. Today's further funding announcements linked to longer term sustained support are also critical. It shows the Prime Minister has listened to the frontline services calling for the resource to turn that ambition into action."
"It is also extremely encouraging to see Government lead the way in building a diverse coalition to deliver on this ambition. We of course welcome the way that Government has been engaging with the Voluntary, Community and Faith sector, and look forward to this being a continuing dialogue as we move further into implementing plans to end rough sleeping. Few people understand their local communities better than the voluntary organisations embedded within them, and they must be equal partners in developing and delivering the solutions locally."
"And it was great to see trust and foundations, philanthropists, and private business all brought into play their role. These are all people who already engaged in the homelessness sector, but with Government bringing these different voices together we can look to breakdown some of the siloes that has limited progress in the past.
“In that same collaborative spirit, we look forward to working with Government to ensure policy choices across Departments– whether that’s in social security, health, asylum, or elsewhere – priortise preventing homelessness.”
“And we also welcome the acknowledgement that support must be sustained for years to come. And here we urge the Prime Minister, Secretary of State and his Ministers to look towards embedding a Housing First philosophy into plans for the next phase of this work. Recognising that for this to be sustainable we must ensure everyone has not just a bed and a home, but also the necessary support needed to keep it.
“The Value for Money review of government spending on homelessness presents an immediate opportunity to create a sustainable, efficient and effective funding model for homelessness services to enable this. One that recognises the value of the high-quality support services that can end and prevent homelessness, and so empowers our dedicated and skilled professionals to end and prevent homelessness in their communities, creating the sustainable change that we all want to see.
“The positivity of today’s announcement must act as a spur to turn Prime Minister’s welcome ambition into action. Homeless Link and our members are fully committed to working with all branches of Government and all other stakeholders to make that happen."
