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10h ago

Labour Unveils £3.5bn Plan to Halve Long-Term Rough Sleeping by 2030

Sector groups say the strategy leaves key gaps, citing a housing benefit freeze alongside no national Housing First expansion.

Labour's new strategy is aiming to halve rough sleeping and step up efforts to prevent homelessness. Image: Milan Cobanov / Unsplash
One in 153 people in England are now experiencing homelessness. Image: Jon Tyson / Unsplash
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A long-term, cross-government strategy is intended to turnaround rising homelessness numbers over the past few years. Image: Jon Tyson / Unsplash

Overview

  • The National Plan to End Homelessness introduces a legal duty for public bodies to collaborate and sets targets to prevent people being discharged from prisons or hospitals into homelessness.
  • Ministers set out £950m to deliver 5,000 better temporary homes, £124m for supported housing to help about 2,500 people off the streets, £37m for community and faith providers, and £30m to reduce use of poor emergency accommodation.
  • Councils must publish tailored local action plans, with a £50m prevention grant in 2025–26 to keep households in their homes.
  • Crisis and Shelter welcome the focus on prevention but argue only around £100m appears to be new money and warn the frozen Local Housing Allowance will hinder moves out of homelessness.
  • Shelter estimates 382,618 people in England are homeless, including 175,025 children, with 4,667 rough sleepers on any given night, highlighting the scale facing the plan’s 2029/30 targets.