Commenting on the Government's homelessness strategy, Jen Clark, economic, social and cultural rights lead at Amnesty International UK said:



“Today’s plan acknowledges the scale of England’s homelessness crisis, but it does not match the urgency required to address unprecedented levels of homelessness. The government says it wants homelessness to be ‘rare, brief and a one-off,’ yet continues policies that actively undermine that goal: social security levels that are too low to meet basic needs, housing benefits frozen below real rents, sanctions that can remove 100% of a person’s income for missing a single appointment, and discriminatory housing eligibility rules. 

We welcome important steps such as strengthened renters’ protections, extending the Decent Homes Standard to temporary accommodation, removing local connection requirements for some groups, increased data transparency on out-of-area placements, and the ambition that no one should leave prison, hospital or care into homelessness. The new duty to collaborate locally is also a positive development.

But these commitments sit alongside at least eight new toolkits and pieces of guidance and multiple revisions to existing guidance, with a limited number that carry statutory force. Without enforceable protections, cross-government leadership, and meaningful action to tackle poverty, the plan will not address the structural drivers that push people into homelessness.

The previous government promised to end rough sleeping and failed to deliver. This government has set itself a less ambitious target, only to halve it. To avoid yet another cycle of promises without meaningful change, ministers must embed rights in statute and fix the wider systems, including social security, that are forcing people into crisis in the first place.”