Homelessness ‘could end in 10 years’

HOMELESSNESS in Britain could be ended in 10 years if the UK Government matched the commitment to fund new social housing units made by the Welsh and Scottish governments, according to a leading charity.

A major report from Crisis says that Wales needs to build 4,000 new homes a year for the next 15 years if the demand for social housing is to be met and homelessness ended.

In 2016 the late Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children Carl Sargeant increased the housing sector’s funding so 4,000 homes a year will be built during the current Assembly term until 2021. In its report Crisis calls on all political parties to commit to ending homelessness.

It says that 100,500 social homes need to be built each year for the next 15 years across Britain to meet the needs of both homeless people and the wider cohort of people in Britain on low incomes, including those at risk of homelessness.

While the Welsh and Scottish governments are currently on course to meet the target – assuming no budget cuts after 2021 – the UK Government has not committed to an equivalent level of building in England.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: “For the first time ever, we have a comprehensive plan that shows exactly how we can address the root causes of homelessness and make it a thing of the past. Other parts of the world are taking huge strides towards ending it, and Britain can too. We must not become a society that simply accepts homelessness as ‘a sad fact of life’, because the good news is that we know it doesn’t have to be this way.”

A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “Our commitment to ending homelessness is clear. We are investing a record £1.4bn in the housing sector to tackle a range of issues, including building homes, improving existing housing stock and to help prevent people from becoming homeless. Unlike the UK Government, we have passed legislation which abolished the right to buy social housing to protect the stock and incentivise the building of new homes for people in Wales. We also exceeded our affordable homes target during the last term of government, and continue commitment to build 20,000 affordable homes by 2021.”

The spokeswoman added: “Tackling homelessness is about more than just access to housing – that’s why our national strategy includes housing as one of our five cross-cutting priorities.”

The Welsh Government cannot make spending commitments beyond 2021.