A missed opportunity to tackle the supported housing crisis

Today’s Spending Review, introduced in the House of Commons by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, offered some much-needed commitments to invest in housing, but for those of us working on the frontline of supported housing, homelessness and rough sleeping it was a deeply disappointing statement.

We welcome the government’s pledge to increase funding for social and affordable housing. This is a vital part of the housing ecosystem and will improve options for people who are ready to move on from supported housing into more independent living.

However, what was conspicuously absent from today’s announcement was any recognition of — or investment in — the crisis in supported housing itself. This is a major omission whose impact can hardly be overstated. Supported housing is the bedrock that allows people facing multiple disadvantages to stabilise, recover, and ultimately regain independence. It must be properly resourced.

Instead, what we’re seeing, and what today’s review fails to address, is a range of key front-line services under severe strain. Inflationary pressures, rising demand, ongoing de-funding and periodic de-commissioning means that supported housing is closing, right across the country. Without it, the people who rely on these services have nowhere to go. When supported housing collapses, so too does the route out of homelessness.

Equally disappointing is the lack of dedicated funding for housing-related support more broadly, including crisis prevention. Such investment is not only humane; it’s cost-effective. Preventing homelessness saves money across health, criminal justice, and emergency accommodation systems. Today’s spending review offered nothing in this respect.

The proposed decriminalisation of rough sleeping is a distraction from this neglect of the services that are essential to tackling it. It’s obviously absurd to arrest someone for being homeless. What’s really needed is a national strategy, with accompanying resources, to get people off the streets and into accommodation with the right support for as long as they need it. We will continue to make the case for this.

We will continue to make the case for properly funded, commissioned supported housing — as part of a joined-up response to rising need that is focused on real outcomes for people. The government’s ambitions for growth and fairness must include those at the margins. Today’s review was a chance to do just that. Sadly, it was missed.