Our report on homelessness makes for very sober reading. More and more people are finding themselves, through no fault of their own, with nowhere to live. When they seek help, they are all too often treated with disdain and some are simply turned away with futile advice.
We on the Communities and Local Government select committee have made recommendations on how these issues can be addressed and support a private member’s bill on homelessness reduction presented by our colleague Bob Blackman MP. We plan to follow up on our recommendations next year and will also take evidence on the bill when parliament returns from recess in September.
Homelessness comes in many forms and encompasses a wide range of experiences. When people think of homelessness they often think of rough sleepers, forced to live on the streets and bed down for the night in shop doorways and or on park benches. Rough sleeping is there for all to see but it is only part of the growing problem of homelessness in our society.
To properly tackle the issue, we must also open our eyes to the hidden homelessness: people in night shelters, for example, or those drifting from sofa to sofa, relying on the kindness of relatives and friends.
It is also important to know the true extent of homelessness in Britain if we are to make progress. Unfortunately, the picture is unclear and that is why our report on homelessness calls on the government to improve the data statistics that they publish as a matter of urgency and consider how they can capture not just the number of homeless people rough sleeping or receiving support from local authorities, but also those who have not approached their council or have been turned away before making a formal application.
What we do know, however, is that homelessness is on the rise and that the cost and availability of housing is a major factor behind this increase. A shortage of social housing is driving those who are at risk of homelessness, or trying to escape from it, into the private rented sector, where landlords can be unwilling to let those on benefits, tenancy agreements can be short and unstable and rents are often unaffordable, even with housing benefit.
The government and councils can begin to address these issues by working together to deliver more homes – based on local need, at rents that really are affordable – and by reviewing levels of local housing allowances with a view to bridging the growing gap with market prices.
They should also take steps to boost both the willingness of landlords to let to homeless people and the confidence of homeless people to take on a tenancy. These might include longer tenancy agreements being offered, with tenants allowed to break early without penalty, and the option for housing benefit to be paid directly to landlords.
But we must also look beyond prevention and consider ways to improve relief and support for when people do find themselves without a home. At present local authorities do have a legal duty to house homeless people, but only if they fall into certain categories. These include care leavers, women who are pregnant and people who live with, or would otherwise live with, dependent children. These criteria should not be abolished – the most vulnerable among us should be a priority. But the government should also consider how we can better help those people who do not meet the vulnerability criteria. For those people who can prove a local connection, councils must be able to give meaningful support.
At the very least, people who are not offered housing by their local authority should being given decent advice and treated with dignity. During the course of our inquiry, we heard again and again that people are often treated by council staff in ways that were dismissive and at times approaching discriminatory. In some cases they were sent away with little more than a list of hostels. This is unacceptable. We support local authorities, which are under huge financial pressure, but treating people humanely costs nothing.
Only by understanding the true extent of the issue, tackling its causes and improving the support on offer will we get to grips with the homelessness problem shaming our country.
