Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chadlington on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any assessment of the Housing First policy implemented in Utah as a means to tackle homelessness.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

One person without a home is one too many which is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million.

Homelessness is rarely the result of a personal housing crisis alone and we know that many rough sleepers and homeless people have complex needs, such as mental health difficulties or substance misuse, which result in poor life chances.

That is why we announced at Budget 2016 that we are developing a new £10 million national Social Impact Bond programme, to help homeless people with complex needs off the streets. We want to drive innovative ways to support those with the most complex needs, including ‘Housing First’. In doing so, we will look to learn from how other countries have delivered, including the United States and elsewhere.

This work forms part of our wider approach to preventing and reducing homelessness, which also includes a new £10 million rough sleeping programme and an additional £100 million of funding for move-on accommodation for those leaving hostels and refuges.