Charities call on Government to fix £1bn hole in vital homelessness services
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Nine years of government cuts have left local services for single
homeless people with a shocking £1bn a year funding gap, according
to major new research commissioned by St Mungo’s and Homeless Link
(Wednesday 24 April 2019). The charities are warning that
punishing cuts to council budgets are leaving increasing numbers of
people at risk on the streets, and calling on the Government to act
now to make up the funding shortfall - or inevitably face missing
its target of...Request free trial
Nine years of government cuts have left local services for single
homeless people with a shocking £1bn a year funding gap, according
to major new research commissioned by St Mungo’s and Homeless Link
(Wednesday 24 April 2019).
The charities are warning that punishing cuts to council budgets are leaving increasing numbers of people at risk on the streets, and calling on the Government to act now to make up the funding shortfall - or inevitably face missing its target of ending rough sleeping by 2027. The report, Local Authority Spending on Homelessness, by WPI Economics, shows that council spending on support for single homeless people in England fell by 53% between 2008-9 and 2017-18. This means that local authorities in England are now spending almost £1bn less a year on these vital homelessness services compared to ten years ago. Overall, more than £5bn less has been spent on services for single homeless people over the past nine years than would have been spent had funding continued at 2008-9 levels. During the same period, homelessness in England has risen dramatically, with the number of people sleeping rough now 165% higher than it was in 2010. Single people and couples without children are the least likely to have a legal right to be housed by their council and so are the most likely to end up sleeping on the streets. Support for this group is crucial to help them find and keep accommodation, and cope with the complex problems that may be contributing to their homelessness, including poor mental health, substance use and domestic abuse.
Government cuts to funding for single homelessness services have
hit hard. Until 2009 the Supporting People programme, funded by
the Government, provided local authorities with ring-fenced
funding for people struggling to live independently to avoid and
escape homelessness. The impact of the removal of this ring-fence
along with the reduction in the levels of housing-related support
funding has been felt acutely by homelessness services. Researchers asked councils and service providers about the impact of the cuts, and found a worrying reduction in services aimed at preventing homelessness, such as family mediation and tenancy sustainment. Without early intervention services, people cannot access support until they reach crisis point, and for many this means being forced to face the dangers of sleeping rough before getting any help. While the Government’s Rough Sleeping Strategy has provided welcome additional funding for homelessness services, it falls short of replacing the lost funding identified in this research. St Mungo’s and Homeless Link are calling on the Government to use the upcoming Spending Review to redress the shortfall by investing an extra £1bn a year in homelessness services through a ring fenced grant to local authorities. Howard Sinclair, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, said: “This shocking billion pound a year funding gap must be a wake-up call for the Government. Councils have a crucial role to play in preventing and reducing homelessness and rough sleeping, but years of cuts have left them struggling to tackle rising homelessness with fewer and fewer resources. If the Government does not act to restore funding to previous levels, it is likely to miss its target of ending rough sleeping by 2027.” “The human cost of these cuts is all too real. The people we work with – many struggling with poor mental health, substance use or domestic violence – are often being left with no option but to sleep rough. With nearly 600 people dying on our streets or while homeless in a year, this really is a matter of life and death. The Government must use this year’s Spending Review to put the money back and to turn the tide of rising homelessness. It can only do this by committing to a programme of guaranteed, long-term funding, so that everyone can find and keep a home for good.”
Rick Henderson, Chief Executive of national membership
body for the homelessness and supported housing sector, Homeless
Link, said:
ENDS About the research
- Single homelessness: All spend on Supporting People services, and spend on temporary accommodation & homelessness administration by number of non-family households in each type of temporary accommodation, or accepted as homeless. - Family homelessness: Spend on temporary accommodation & homelessness administration spend by number of family households in each type of temporary accommodation, or accepted as homeless. - Other homelessness: Spend on ‘rent allowances / rebates’, and ‘other welfare’
Rough sleeping statistics
According to the Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government, at least 4,677 people
slept rough in England on a snapshot night in autumn 2018. This
is down 74 (2%) since 2017, but still remains 165% higher than it
was in 2010.
Accommodation Since 2017-18, the Government has announced the following additional funding to help local authorities tackle homelessness and rough sleeping:
- Rough Sleeping Grant: £10m over 2016/17 to 2018/19 |