WIREDGOV

Homeless Link has coordinated an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves ahead of the upcoming Autumn Budget.

The letter was signed by 76 homelessness and housing organisations from across the country, including, Crisis, the National Housing Federation and YMCA England and Wales. It raises the alarm of the perilous funding cliff-edge facing homelessness services across the country, with almost £1bn due to leave the homelessness sector in April.

Together, the organisations call for the Chancellor to give the homelessness sector certainty in the upcoming Autumn Budget through a one-year rollover of existing homelessness funding into 2025/26, including an uplift inline with inflation.

They then call on the Government to launch a systematic, cross departmental review of all homelessness-related spending informing a commitment to develop and deliver a consolidated, ring-fenced homelessness funding system from 2026/27 onwards.

Responding to the letter, Homeless Link CEO Rick Henderson said:

“The sheer number of organisations who’ve signed this letter shows how much anxiety the funding cliff-edge is causing homelessness services across the country. Organisations are already considering redundancies and scaling back services. The Autumn Budget is the Government’s final opportunity to give the sector some certainty and prevent the inevitable surge in homelessness that will come if services are forced to close their doors from March. 

“Beyond the next financial year, there are deep flaws with the current system of homelessness funding that need fixing. . Funding is inefficient and complex, comprising a patchwork of different pots which focus on short-term crisis interventions at the expense of preventing people from experiencing homeless in the first place.  

“In her recent speech at Labour conference, the Chancellor talked about recognising the benefits of investment. It must therefore be an important priority of the Government to re-shape this picture through delivering a ring-fenced homelessness funding system from 2026/27 onward. This will give the homelessness sector the stability and funding to effectively prevent and end people’s homelessness, saving lives and reducing strain on health and emergency services in the process.”