This week, we submitted our Autumn Budget 2024 and Spending Review representation to HM Treasury.
Against a backdrop of record levels of homelessness in recent years, investment in ending homelessness must be prioritised in this Budget.
This Budget and Spending Review could be a pivotal moment and vital opportunity for the new Government to lay the foundations of its cross-governmental approach to ending homelessness.
Ahead of the Budget being delivered on 30 October, we recommending that the Government takes the following actions:
- Extend funding to tackle the Rough Sleeping emergency – The Government should commit to extending and uplifting Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) funding for at least the duration of the Spending Review period to avoid annual bidding rounds and guarantee that any move away from this model is accompanied with a reasonable transition period to sustainable future funding, enabling long-term work to end homelessness to be the most impactful.
- Maintain Local Housing Allowance Rates to support housing affordability – The Government should commit to keeping the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in line with at least the 30th percentile of local rents, as recommended by the Work and Pensions Select Committee. LHA rates should be adjusted at least annually to keep pace with the real cost of renting.
- Increase the Benefit Cap to help people into housing – To ensure that the maintaining of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are effective, the Government should increase benefit cap to allow people to claim their full LHA entitlement to help them into secure housing.
- Remove employment disincentives to help people in supported housing into work – To ensure people in supported housing do not become worse off when they work more, the Government should ensure there is parity in the taper rates between Housing Benefit and Universal Credit housing elements, with both at a taper rate of 55%, as well as increasing the Housing Benefit disregard.
