Homelessness: the silent crisis the next government cannot ignore

Next week, the UK will choose its next government and prime minister. Naturally, the national spotlight is firmly on the race to occupy 10 Downing Street. Yet for hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, homelessness is the real housing crisis. In England alone, more than 300,000 people are homeless – the equivalent of the population of Milton Keynes. The next government must prioritise tackling the homelessness crisis if we are to build a prosperous and prosperous Britain.

For a G7 country, the scale and longevity of the UK’s homelessness crisis is completely unacceptable. The latest government data shows that in England, nearly 45,000 households were homeless by the end of 2023, with a further 16,400 households in Scotland, 6,500 in Wales and 4,200 in Northern Ireland. While there are no centralised figures on homelessness in the UK, this suggests that over 72,000 households across the country are homeless.

It is too easy to view homelessness solely as a digital problem, but anyone without a home is someone deprived of the opportunity to participate and thrive in our society. Centrepoint, a leading youth homelessness charity, says almost 136,000 young people, aged 16 to 24, are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. That’s 136,000 people entering their adult lives without the stability and support they need to reach their full potential.

Instead, they find themselves trapped in a social void. Without a permanent address they cannot open a bank account, without a bank account they cannot receive social assistance and without proof of residence they may not be entitled to housing assistance. This situation is compounded by disrupted education and the near impossibility of finding stable employment, which could affect them for the rest of their lives.

But this is not an insoluble crisis; there are three key steps the next government can take to really make an impact.

Firstly, although the government’s first instinct would be to launch a new homelessness taskforce, the reality is that this would only complicate matters – introducing another voice into the debate rather than contributing to the solution . Instead, we need the Government to direct its resources and support to the charities and organizations already tackling homelessness every day.

From Shelter and Depaul to Crisis and Centrepoint, the experts needed to tackle homelessness are already where we need them – they simply need more resources to expand and accelerate their crucial programs. To gain more support, the government should appoint a chief charities officer, responsible for directing targeted support to organizations already making a difference and ensuring funding has the greatest possible impact.

Second, we need to completely rethink the planning process to remove the barriers that prevent the development of emergency housing and homeless shelters. While a wider review of planning processes is badly needed in the UK, any changes must include specific provisions to prioritize and encourage the development of emergency housing. For example, ensuring homes like those in Centrepoint’s independent living scheme are included in Section 106 planning laws would be a major boost. We need to make it easier for charities to provide support that helps people get off the streets for good.

Finally, we must start making housing more affordable and accessible. It is essential that the next government tackles the critical housing deficit in the UK, which stands at over 4.3 million homes. Real energy must be put into building new homes, including starter homes and buy-to-let, while easing planning and change of use policies to make it easier to convert unused office buildings into homes. Without real action on housing, we will not be able to solve this crisis.

The upcoming election is an opportunity for the UK to make the decisions needed to end homelessness once and for all. We cannot afford to view homelessness as an individual problem but rather as a moral challenge for our society and our politicians.

Politics.co.uk is the UK’s first digital-only politics website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest election news and analysis.

Source