Homelessness charities have warned that ministers are “falling short of what is desperately needed to end Britain’s homelessness crisis”.
It comes as the government published its new plan to tackle rough sleeping in Britain, which pledges £3.5bn of funding to crackdown on the issue.
But charities have said Labour’s National Plan to End Homelessness “falls short” and contains “important gaps”, meaning the party will not be able to achieve their stated goal of halving the number of homeless people by 2029/30.
Crisis, an organisation that supports the homeless, also argues that only £100m of the funding announced in the strategy is new.
Meanwhile, Labour MP Paula Barker, who co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for ending homelessness, has told Sky News that the strategy has a “depressing lack of meat on the bone”, looks like it has been “rushed out”, and has left her “disappointed”.
It comes as Shelter warns that 382,618 people in England – including a record 175,025 children – will be homeless this Christmas, equivalent to one in every 153 people.
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What does the government’s plan to reduce rough sleeping involve?
The government has made three key pledges in its new plan, unveiled on Wednesday evening.
It says that it is aiming to halve the number of long-term rough sleepers by the end of the parliament, reduce the time families spend living in bed and breakfasts (B&Bs), and prevent more people from becoming homeless in the first place.
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To achieve this, the party has set out numerous new measures, schemes and extra funding. The main objectives are:
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A new £124m supported housing scheme is also being established, and the government hopes that it will help get 2,500 people in England off the streets.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said homelessness is “one of the most profound challenges we face”, and suggested that the strategy will build “a future where homelessness is rare, brief, and not repeated”.
How has the plan been received?
Ms Barker told Sky News she welcomes “the scale of investment”, but is “disappointed by what I have seen”.
The Labour MP explained: “From what I have seen so far, it leaves more questions than it answers – where are the clear measures around prevention? Where is the accommodation for people sleeping rough coming from – has it already been built? What about specialised provision for those fleeing domestic abuse?
“We needed this strategy to be bold.”
Meanwhile, organisations working to support those on the streets have welcomed the plan for its focus on the issue, but warn it leaves it “almost impossible” for many families to avoid homelessness.
Matt Downie, the chief executive of Crisis, said: “Housing benefit remains frozen until at least 2030; there is no coherent approach for supporting refugees and stopping them becoming homeless; and we hear no assurances that the new homes government has pledged to build will be allocated to households experiencing homelessness at the scale required.
“There is a long way to go. Ministers are taking steps in the right direction, but falling short of what’s desperately needed to end Britain’s homelessness crisis.”
Sarah Elliott, head of Shelter, also warned the proposals do not go far enough, saying: “Until a lot more of these social homes are built, one of the only ways to escape homelessness is if you can afford to pay a private rent.
“We know from our frontline services this is almost impossible to do when housing benefit remains frozen, and that is where the homelessness strategy falls short.”
Centrepoint, a charity that supports young people facing homelessness, said that the strategy is “an important step”, and could be “transformative”. But it added that “gaps in the government’s approach remain”, and said increases in funding “don’t face up to the scale of homelessness”.
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The Conservatives have said that the strategy means Labour “has completely failed on homelessness”.
Paul Holmes, shadow housing minister, said the number of households and children in temporary accommodation has risen to “record levels”, and pointed to the government’s “abysmal record on house-building” and tackling immigration.
