Earlier in the year, St Mungo’s made submissions to the Government around what should be included in today’s Comprehensive Spending Review, which maps out budget allocations for governmental departments.
At a time of rising homelessness rates and many people being closer to homelessness than they might think, a core submission from St Mungo’s was the need for a long-term funding settlement – not only to allow its services to continue to be there for people without a home and rebuild their lives, but also provide that support before a crisis point is reached. The organisation also made the case for more social housing.
Emma Haddad, CEO for St Mungo’s, responds to the announcement:
“The allocation of £39 billion for social housing is a significant step in addressing one of the root causes of homelessness. Too many people have been placed in cramped and unsafe temporary accommodation because they have been locked out from an increasingly unaffordable private rented sector. We know that social housing is safe, long-term and provides significantly more stability than the private rented sector, so this investment will be welcome news to many of our clients.
“We also welcome the confirmation of £1bn funding for homelessness services – this is much needed and the certainty of multi-year funding is key to helping us move to a more secure and strategic use of funds. We need the Government to ensure these funds are allocated quickly to ensure continuity of vital services. And the £100 million for early intervention is both welcome and vital to help start to shift the system from managing a crisis to preventing the tragedy of homelessness.
“Today’s funding announcements should help us start to turn the tide on the massive increases in homelessness we’ve seen in recent years. We now need the much-awaited homelessness strategy to crystallise the Government’s ambition and ensure everyone working to end homelessness is pulling in the same direction. We look forward to working with Government to build on today’s helpful steps so we can end homelessness for good.”
