Is this an end to rough sleeping for good?

Jez Bushnell considers Andy Burnham’s first major promise as prime minister and the government’s commitment to tackling homelessness.

Like many of you, I watched the new prime minister’s first speech on the steps of Downing Street in July with interest. As someone working for The Salvation Army to campaign against homelessness, there was one key line from Andy Burnham that I couldn’t ignore:

‘I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction: to end rough sleeping in our country.’

Quite a statement.

Rough sleeping absolutely should be a priority – it is currently at record high levels in England, and anyone from the Army’s Homelessness Services will tell you about the horrific impact that sleeping rough can have on someone’s physical and mental wellbeing. 

At The Salvation Army, we believe everyone is made in the image of God (see Genesis 1:26) and therefore deserves to be treated with dignity. A place to rest your head is surely part of that dignity?

Behind the prime minister’s statement were some welcome initial commitments around funding and housing: to provide an additional £340 million to secure 1,200 homes and intensive support for at least 3,000 people. And this was just the first stage of a wider five-year programme.

The government’s plan to get ‘Everyone in for Christmas’

Since then, the prime minister has also announced a plan to offer every rough sleeper in England accommodation this Christmas, pledging an additional £102 million.

In response to this plan, Director of Homelessness Services Nick Redmore said: ‘Let’s use this energy from the Prime Minster to make this the Christmas when we start to finally turn the tide on rough sleeping, but we must be ready for this to take time and resource.

‘We share the prime minister’s ambition but truly ending rough sleeping is a marathon not a sprint. Meaningful change takes time and investment in specialist services designed to empower people to make long-term and sustainable changes. It will also be important ensure there is enough specialist and social housing.’

How to create long-lasting change

Nick added: ‘These significant changes will be needed to turn “Everyone in for Christmas” into long-lasting change for some of the most vulnerable people in our society: 

‘In the short term, a change to homelessness legislation in England so that rough sleepers are added to the priority need list for emergency and then longer-term housing but, in the long term, for the priority need list to be abolished so everyone who is experiencing homelessness can be helped. 

‘Reverse the freeze on the value of Local Housing Allowance rates to enable people claiming universal credit or housing benefit to afford to rent at least 3 in every 10 of the most affordable private properties in any given area.  

‘A commitment to a sustained investment and increase in housing stock and especially social housing in the UK to meet the needs of the growing numbers of people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. 

‘An introduction of the same recording system of the rough sleeping population as in London (CHAIN statistics) to other cities and regions in the UK with high levels of homelessness, providing detailed information on the number of people experiencing homelessness across the whole country in need of support.’

A promising start

The numbers from the government so far are promising and certainly give the impression that this commitment is not just about saying the right words but about backing them up with hard evidence. 

But questions do remain.

Money and housing alone will not deliver the end to rough sleeping that we all desire. There are still legislative barriers that prevent many rough sleepers from getting vital emergency accommodation – read our report about priority need for more information.

Rough sleeping also represents just one of many forms of homelessness. Will the prime minister be committing to ending the other types of homelessness in our society?

And then there’s the fundamental truth that, just because a prime minister commits to doing something, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen. We have heard politicians promise to end rough sleeping before, to no avail. After all, commitment and delivery are two very different things.

This is why it is so important that we grasp this opportunity and make this time different.

Rough sleeping and homelessness are not inevitable. In July, Territorial Leaders Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main wrote a letter to the new prime minister from The Salvation Army to emphasise this. 

We’re calling for access to support when it’s needed, and vital wrap-around support services to break the cycle of homelessness. Together we can fight to deliver lasting change to improve the lives of some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in our society. To treat them with dignity, including a place to rest their heads.

Reflect and respond

• Join our campaign to end homelessness for good. Write to your local elected politician.
• Pray for politicians and ‘all those in authority’ (1 Timothy 2:2) for wisdom and compassion in their decisions.