The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) holds an evidence session on
tackling homelessness at 3.30pm on Monday
2nd
December. The session follows the National Audit
Office's (NAO) 2024 report on the effectiveness
of Government in tackling homelessness.
Despite the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act in
2017, homelessness levels are at a record high and are set to
rise even higher. Burgeoning demand meant local authorities spent
£2.44 billion on homelessness services in 2022-23 (more than
double than in 2010-11), with £1.6 billion of this being spent on
temporary accommodation.
The NAO report highlighted issues around the availability and
affordability of suitable accommodation, both for local
authorities' ability to provide suitable accommodation and as a
driver of homelessness itself. Recent figures show that the
number of households being housed in B&Bs was around 15,950,
of which approximately 2,960 families with children had been
there over the statutory period of 6
weeks.
The ever-increasing demand to provide temporary accommodation is
placing unsustainable financial pressure on some local
authorities, according to the NAO. It concluded that the lack of
a long-term funding plan, limited work on the prevention of
homelessness and the absence of a clear strategy, Departments are
unlikely to achieve value for money in tackling
homelessness.
The Committee will likely challenge senior officials from the
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the
Department for Work and Pensions on topics
including:
· How the levels of
homelessness have changed over recent years;
· Whether local authorities
are receiving adequate support to address the growing demand for
temporary accommodation; and
· How Government will ensure
value for money in tackling homelessness.
Witnesses
From 3.30pm:
· CB CVO, Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(MHCLG)
· Catherine Frances, Director
General for Local Government, Resilience and Communities at
MHCLG
· Penny Hobman, Director for
Homelessness and Rough Sleeping at MHCLG
· James Wolfe, Director for
Poverty, Families and Disadvantage at Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP)
· Jenan Hasan, Director of
Housing and Universal Credit at DWP
