Transcript After the Mayoral Elections: What next for homelessness? Sarah MacFadyen Policy and Parliamentary Officer, Crisis.

After the Mayoral Elections: What next for
homelessness?
Sarah MacFadyen
Policy and Parliamentary Officer, Crisis
The National Context: rising homelessness
• Homelessness approaches are up 6% in the last year, and acceptances are up
14%
• Rough sleeping nationally is up 23%
In London:
• Approaches are up 6%, acceptances 25%
• Rough sleeping is up 8%
Welfare reform: Housing Benefit
• 4.95 million people now claim HB – an all time high
• The HB bill is £22bn
• It is being cut by around £2 billion
• A further £10bn will be cut from welfare in the next spending round – we don’t
yet know where these cuts will fall
Welfare reform: Housing Benefit
• LHA cuts will see almost a million people losing an average of £12 per week
• In London, the impact is worse – the average loss is £22 per week
• The extension of the Shared Accommodation Rate will see 62,500 people lose
£41 per week
Also:
• Social housing under-occupancy cut
•Total benefits cap
Supporting People and service cuts
• Supporting People funding has been de-ringfenced and some areas are seeing
cuts of up to 45%
• This is affecting frontline service provision
• Over half of hostels have seen their funding cut, and there are 2,200 fewer bed
spaces than there were 2 years ago
• Future of Housing Benefit for hostels and supported accommodation in doubt
Homelessness safety net and social housing
• Localism Act allows councils to discharge homeless households into the private
rented sector, instead of guaranteeing a social home
• There is still no duty to secure accommodation for non-priority need homeless
people – typically single adults
• Short social housing tenancies are being introduced – these could be as short as
2 years
A Perfect Storm…
• High unemployment, low wages and a struggling economy are pushing up
homelessness
• Welfare reform and changes to the homelessness duty will erode the safety net
that has traditionally acted as a buffer between poverty and homelessness
• Funding cuts mean that there is less support available to those who do become
homeless
• London is being hit particularly hard
What powers does the mayor have?
• Full, strategic control over housing, regeneration and economic development in
London
• Housing budget of £3 billion
• New housing board to decide how to spend it – Homes for London
• Homelessness budget of £34 million
• Ability to coordinate action across the whole of London, bringing together local
authorities, other agencies and the voluntary sector
Previous mayoral term
• Mayor pledged to end rough sleeping in London by the end of 2012
• Progress was made – rough sleeping came down and three quarters of the 205
rough sleepers identified as the most entrenched were helped off the streets
• London Delivery Board – bringing together boroughs, charities and other
agencies including NHS and police – coordinated strategic action across the city
• No Second Night Out
Housing
• 54,000 new affordable homes delivered during the last mayoral term
• Pledge to deliver a further 50,000 during the next term
• Of course, we need far more than this – but it’s a start
A commitment to housing – but not homelessness?
It is these opportunity areas that will help us to tackle London’s housing crisis –
but we will go further. Yes, I am proud that we have defied the sceptics and built a
record 52,000 affordable homes over the last four years. Now I intend to create a
new agency – Homes for London – that will bring 530 hectares of public land
together and make that land available for development.
Boris Johnson’s 2012 manifesto
So what more should the Mayor be doing to prevent and
tackle homelessness in London?
Continue work to end rough sleeping and make wider
homelessness a priority
All homeless people able to access the healthcare, skills and
back-to-work support they need
A significant increase in the supply of genuinely affordable
social housing
A private rented sector that works for everyone, providing
secure and affordable accommodation of a decent standard
London’s interests championed at a national policy level
Summary
• Homelessness nationally is rising, and will continue to do so
• London is being particularly badly affected
• The Mayor has made progress on homelessness and rough sleeping in London
– but this is being undone by national policy decisions
• There are still things that the Mayor can do to tackle homelessness
Any questions?
[email protected]