This chance to tackle rough sleeping must not be wasted



The Government has announced an extra £52million to ensure 6,000 more homes are put into the system which supports rough sleepers.

This hugely welcomed move will ensure that in the next 12 months, 3,300 homes will become available and that Dame Louise Casey’s, rough sleeping pandemic taskforce, can continue supporting solutions, which saw 90% of rough sleepers being offered accommodation.

 The next steps will prove how much thought the Government has given to deliver a sustainable service because many existing places are either temporary/hostels and have unsuitable and underfunded support services. These services, which councils typically arrange, don’t always offer the type of support and environment needed for sustainable recovery and too often, just put roofs over heads.

On-site and floating mental and physical health support may need to operate as a separate contract, as many residential sites will not be able to provide adequate wrap around care. Separating contracts will improve engagement, stabilisation and recovery, while ensuring a greater ability to report service challenges, successes and failures.

Homes must be homes. Shared living spaces, such as kitchens are not always ideal and therefore being taught how to live independently must be prioritised. This not only ensures a greater number of people can inspire their own recovery but it allows greater flexibility to see family members, retain relationships with support groups and keep pets, which is a major issue for some, who end up turning down accommodation due to the ‘no pets allowed’ policy.

This may require new residential facilities to be built, sometimes with targeted onsite wrap around care and therefore new planning rules may need to be considered to ensure groups such as charities, do not find themselves spending thousands of pounds and years fighting for planning permissions. Where there is a housing need for rough sleepers, the Government should provide the mechanisms to solve it.

Comments made by Nick Walkley, CEO HomesEngland should alert the Government to this planning need. Homes England want to ‘support the taskforce’ and ‘work toward ending rough sleeping for good’ but they do not have planning powers and therefore must work with councils to unlock opportunities, where they accept them.

Planning continues to be a major challenge in the housing crisis and will be in rough sleeping, too. It is one of the contributory reasons for a 309% increase in the number of households put in temporary accommodation.

The Government must also consider how it can collate the superb work done by councils and the recently implemented ‘Housing First’ principles, and share that guidance with all local authorities. Post covid-19, there will be increased challenges in homelessness and rough sleeping, which is why it will be vital to learn from the increase in homelessness felt after the 2008 financial crash and implement sustainable policies that deliver sustainable strategies.

We cannot waste this chance to tackle rough sleeping and its inevitable increase post covid-19. Its failure, or success will be part of this Governments legacy.

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