Tuesday 31 October 2017
Today the government published details of its proposed funding model for supported housing.
Howard Sinclair, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, said:
“Tackling homelessness is one of the major issues society faces over the coming years. Rough sleeping has increased by 134% over the last five years and the government has pledged to end rough sleeping by 2027. Supported housing will be key to achieving this commitment. By removing the threat of the LHA cap for longer-term supported housing, we saw that the government was prepared to listen.
“After waiting two years for news, we wanted to see a solid commitment that would safeguard the future of supported housing for people who need it – either to help them through a crisis or when they need longer term support. These proposals don’t offer the security that we were looking for and some fundamental questions remain. One of these is how the funding currently provided for supported housing services will continue into the future and not be eroded once transferred to local authorities.
“The new proposals also would see funding for homeless hostels move from a statutory benefits entitlement to a discretionary local system. It’s unclear how this new approach would secure existing provision or create the opportunities for new development that will help us to meet the increasing need.
“As such we are disappointed that there is not more clarity in today’s announcement. However we are determined to continue to work with government and all stakeholders to ensure that good quality services, that meet increasing levels of need, are delivered now and into the long term future.”