Labour aims to halve number of rough sleepers by 2029 with new £3.5bn homelessness strategy

Labour has finally revealed its homelessness strategy and pledged to halve the number of people sleeping rough long-term over the next three years.

Originally a manifesto promise, the strategy lays out how the government aims to invest £3.5 billion in tackling homelessness over the next three years with a focus on preventing people losing their home in the first place.

The national plan will bring forward legislation for public bodies to collaborate to prevent homelessness and set clear targets on preventing homelessness after leaving prisons, social care and hospitals for the first time.

As mentioned in last week’s child poverty strategy, the government also intends to end the unlawful use of B&Bs for families in temporary accommodation and will use £950 million from the local authority housing fund to build 5,000 high-quality temporary accommodation homes.

“Homelessness is one of the most profound challenges we face as a society, because at the heart, it’s about people. Families deserve stability, children need a safe place to grow, and individuals simply want the dignity of a home,” said housing secretary Steve Reed, adding that people who have experienced homelessness and frontline workers contributed to the plan.   

“Through our new strategy we can build a future where homelessness is rare, brief, and not repeated. With record investment, new duties on public services, and a relentless focus on accountability, we will turn ambition into reality.”

Homelessness across England remains high. There are record numbers of households living in temporary accommodation, including more than 172,000 children, while the most recent rough sleeping snapshot showed a 20% rise in numbers from autumn 2023 to 2024.

The issue is a costly one: councils across England collectively spent £2.8bn housing people in temporary accommodation in 2024-25.

Homelessness minister Alison McGovern said the “prize is big” for the government in tackling homelessness. That’s in terms of reducing the toll homelessness takes on people affected and the public purse.

Currently a family is being made homeless or threatened with homelessness every five minutes, the government said.

“Right now, taxpayers are paying the price of failure, with temporary accommodation costs skyrocketing,” said McGovern, who took over the homelessness brief in September.  ”And the next generation of British young people can’t succeed without the space they need.  This strategy sets us on a better path – to save money and change lives.” 

Labour’s plan is focused on prevention. A new ‘duty to collaborate’ will see collaboration between public bodies to stop people falling through the cracks.

That’s the right approach, according to Big Issue founder Lord John Bird. But the crossbench peer said there were plenty of omissions.

The strategy includes no commitment to a national expansion of Housing First despite calls from Labour MPs led by Paula Barker ahead of publication.

“While commendable, the record investment piled into the emergency of homelessness last winter barely moved the dial, simply because of the huge number of people still falling into that emergency,” said Lord Bird. “It’s essential we turn off the tap if we want to stop this crisis overflowing, so the government is right to turn their focus to prevention.

“But this strategy doesn’t go deep enough into unpicking the systemic factors that leave people facing housing insecurity – nor does it direct enough investment in social housing or programmes like Housing First, which succeed in keeping people permanently housed by looking at all the stubborn, complex issues triggered by a life in extreme poverty. 

“I will support this government every step of the way if it truly commits to prevention, but this means lifting the poverty which is leaving millions teetering on the edge of homelessness, not just moving people through it.”

The strategy sets a new long-term ambition that no one should be made homeless from a public institution.

The national plan also pledges to “rewire the system” to focus support where it’s needed most in a bid to halve the number of people experiencing long-term rough sleeping.

That will see ministers invest £124m in supported housing to help more than 2,500 people off the streets.

A new £15m long-term rough sleeping innovation programme will be used to help councils “develop fresh solutions” alongside a £37m ending homelessness in communities programme to boost services across voluntary, community and faith frontline groups.

Bonnie Williams, chief executive at homelessness charity Housing Justice, welcomed the latter funding and told Big Issue it would be “vital” for the community sector.

“We’re really pleased to see that the new minister has requested the strategy be published so quickly in her term. I think there was the potential it would drag out a bit longer,” said Williams, sits who on the minister’s Expert Group on Ending Homelessness.

“However, the strategy could do with being a bit more ambitious. We’ve written to the minister with seven other organisations to highlight that it is going to need significant government oversight to ensure that it is delivered effectively.

“Even then some of the conversations around the release of the strategy have spoken about ensuring that homelessness doesn’t increase during this government term whereas we’d really like more of a commitment towards ending homelessness or at least making it rare, brief or non-recurrent.”

Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said a failure to unfreeze housing benefit to help people afford private rented homes could limit the government’s ability to prevent homelessness as will the lack of a guarantee to build social housing.

The government has previously pledged £39bn to build social and affordable homes over the next decade.

There is also “no coherent approach for supporting refugees” in the strategy, despite a rise in homelessness from people being granted refugee status and leaving Home Office accommodation in recent years.

“Today’s strategy is a step in the right direction with much to be applauded, but it does have some important gaps,” said Downie.  

“We will work closely with the housing ministry to make the best of the strategy, but there is a long way to go before the government can claim to be meeting its manifesto commitment of a truly cross government strategy to end homelessness. Ministers are taking steps in the right direction – but falling short of what’s desperately needed to end Britain’s homelessness crisis.”

Read more:

• What a row over a tent village in London’s West End says about the homelessness crisis
• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt author Michael Rosen: ‘Life is harder for kids now than it was in 1989’
• I was homeless on the streets of London. The public piano at St Pancras station saved me

The strategy also sets out how every council will now publish a tailored action plan alongside their local homelessness strategy, including setting local targets on key outcomes. Areas with the greatest homelessness challenges will receive targeted support. 

There will be £50m of funding in 2025-26 for local authorities through the homelessness prevention grant to help people stay in their homes.

The government also called on mayors to “lead with ambition” to drive collaboration between councils, services and partners.

Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s, said the strategy was a “watershed moment”.

“The strategy, rightly, makes clear that the homelessness crisis is deep and won’t be resolved quickly,” said Haddad. “It is, however, a solid step forward and we stand ready to work with government and partners to make the intent of this strategy a reality. Now is the time for collective action.”

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