Blog Will the government’s homelessness strategy work? With homelessness of all kinds continuing to break records, the government’s National Plan to End Homelessness comes at a critical moment. The Plan is wide-ranging, combining analysis, case studies and input from people with lived experience, in addition to proposals aimed at reducing homelessness over both the short and long term. Its origins lie in a 2024 general election manifesto pledge to "develop a new cross-government strategy [...] to put Britain back on track to ending homelessness”. After the election, the new government established a Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Expert Group (HRSEG) including homelessness charities and local government representatives, alongside several “Task & Finish Groups” exploring specific themes that would feed into the national strategy. A Glass Door team member attended one of the Task & Finish Group meetings about creating a joined-up approach for people with complex needs in January 2025, and we submitted suggestions after the meeting. Following months of anticipation, the Plan was finally published in December 2025. We have since reviewed the document in depth and attended events discussing its implications. While it is still early in the Plan’s implementation, some elements are clearly welcome, while other details highlight where more action will be needed. We set these out below. What we welcome in the National Plan to End Homelessness Some positive aspects of the Plan include that it... Puts prevention at its core. It acknowledges that there has been an over-emphasis on emergency provision, which has come at the expense of investing to make sure that homelessness does not occur in the first place. Shows recognition of some of the specific reasons certain groups are especially vulnerable to homelessness – including young people, migrants, people with complex needs and survivors of domestic abuse or modern slavery. Identifies problems such as public services not working together properly and councils not being able to provide the proper level of support due to being overwhelmed, as well as emphasising the role that a lack of social housing has played in contributing to the problems that we see today. Includes several welcome targets, pledges and ambitions, such as: Halving long-term rough sleeping by the end of this parliament Making sure that nobody leaves a public institution (such as prison or hospital) into homelessness Supporting councils to move away from ‘verifying’ people as having slept rough before offering support. Recognises community organisations as key partners. What the government’s National Plan misses out Women’s homelessness Women’s homelessness is a significant and growing problem, but women’s experiences are still misunderstood, which negatively impacts data collection and service design. Although the Plan acknowledges this, it unfortunately does not include meaningful changes to address the gaps we see. For example, the government’s official definition of rough sleeping remains outdated and does not fit women’s experiences, leading to significant undercounting. While the Plan mentions the Women’s Rough Sleeping Census positively, it does not include any commitments to helping the census expand. We recently signed a letter to minister Alison McGovern along with the National Women’s Homeless Coalition and the National Domestic Abuse and Housing Policy and Practice Group. The letter laid out these issues and offered practical recommendations of what the government can do to begin addressing women’s homelessness. Homelessness among people under the age of 35 In recent years, under-35s have made up a growing proportion of our guests, and our caseworkers have had a much harder time securing housing for them. In 2021-2022, less than a quarter of our casework guests were in this age group, but since then, this proportion has risen steadily each year and now represents more than one third. One of the main reasons that our caseworkers struggle to house under-35s is that they have a lower entitlement to housing benefits – usually only getting the “Shared Accommodation Rate” (SAR), which significantly disadvantages them. The National Plan talks about some of the barriers facing young people and their increased risk of homelessness, but it does not mention the SAR (or much about the benefits system) at all. Changes to benefits so that under-35s are not put at such a disadvantage could make an immediate impact, and would be a way for the government to show that it is serious about tackling rising homelessness. Homelessness among migrants and refugees Another trend we have seen – particularly since 2023 – is a significant rise in the number of newly-recognised refugees experiencing homelessness. This increase been caused by a number of factors, including a reduction in integration services and an inadequate ‘move-on period’ (the amount of time that refugees have to leave asylum accommodation after being granted refugee status). The Plan recognises that migrants in general, and people leaving the asylum system in particular, face an increased risk of homelessness. It also describes the importance of proper coordination and integration support to reducing this risk for newly recognised refugees. It includes a commitment from the Home Office to inform councils whenever new refugees are at risk of homelessness, as well as pledging to “deliver long-term reform to create an asylum system that works for both new refugees and the communities they become part of.” However, it neglects one of the most important topics relevant to refugee homelessness, which is the move-on period. Making sure that people who are granted refugee status have enough time to set up a bank account, secure a source of income and find somewhere to live before they leave asylum accommodation greatly reduces their chance of experiencing homelessness. Along with the wider sector, we have long advocated for the move-on period to be at least 56 days. Last year, the government ran a 56-day pilot, but unfortunately, they did not commit to making it permanent. The Plan also includes very little in terms of tangible commitments to boost refugee integration services. Housing affordability We know that high housing costs are a significant driver of homelessness, and that unless something is done to bring them under control, it is very likely that homelessness will continue to get worse. The Plan shows some awareness of this problem, being clear that there has been nowhere near enough investment in social housing for decades, and that this has contributed to a situation where huge numbers of people have no alternative to expensive and insecure private rented housing. Despite this, it contains very little to actually improve the affordability of housing. It does mention some investment in social housing, but nowhere near the level that would be necessary to make a meaningful impact on the housing crisis. It briefly mentions Universal Credit and keeping Local Housing Allowance rates under review but has nothing on the benefit cap, and virtually nothing on any other policies to seriously tackle affordability. In our view, the government should take immediate action to address affordability by boosting the benefits system, along with longer-term steps to drastically increase the supply of social housing and stop rents from spiralling. Will the government’s plan to end homelessness be successful? Whether or not the Plan is successful at bringing down homelessness will depend very much on the steps that the government takes now. The barriers in the way are huge, but not impossible to get past. If the government acknowledges the scale of the problem and takes bold action in the areas we have highlighted, we are confident that some of the negative trends we are seeing can be reversed. However, if these gaps remain, there is a good chance that homelessness will continue to get worse in the UK. Manage Cookie Preferences
