From Sofa Surfing to Stability: Will England’s £1 Billion Plan Deliver?

1 billion dollar plan to address homelessness in the UK

England’s historic £1 billion investment in homelessness prevention could offer real solutions—but only if the money goes where it’s needed most.


Historic Funding Promises Solutions, But Is Affordable Housing Still Missing from the Equation to End Homelessness?

2025 is a banner year for homelessness in England. We’ve turned the corner into the biggest homeless dilemma in the country’s entire recorded history.

According to Crisis, the 8% increase that took place in the 2023-2024 calendar year brought the number of homeless households to over 320,000, meaning that we could now fill Nottingham with the homeless population and still not have enough room for everyone.

Speaking of rooms, the number of people living in and being excluded from temporary accommodations runneth over as experts describe sofa-surfing families in overcrowded living spaces and hundreds of thousands of children living out their entire lives in shelters that were supposed to be a bridge. It turns out they’ve been a bridge to nowhere.

In the wake of crushing numbers, a raging affordability crisis, and astronomical rental rates, what we saw from the government was an increase in laws that criminalize homeless people rather than laws that prioritize permanent affordable housing. That table might have turned as a new and unexpected trend has emerged.

The Ministry of Housing reports that councils across England are shelling out record-breaking amounts of funding to stop the vicious cycle of homelessness right in its tracks, wheels still spinning and all.

English Councils Vow to Spend a Whopping £1 Billion Kicking Homelessness to the Curb

This is more money than they’ve ever allocated toward homelessness. Will it be enough? The answer lies solely in what they spend it on.

Last year, we were highly critical of England’s push toward anti-homeless legislation. One thing that most certainly happened in America is that homelessness continued to increase as laws that criminalize homeless people spiked nationwide. The more we try to arrest our way out of homelessness, the more homelessness we seem to get.

It felt like England was following suit, addressing the affordability crisis with citations instead of solutions and doling out anti-homeless legislation instead of renter and homeowner protections.

However, since the government’s “Plan for Change” has come into play, we witness a new tune that might be awe-inspiring. Under the program, local governments call for “Historic levels of investment in homelessness prevention services alongside new money to help rough sleepers off the street.” So far, the package is sounding pretty sweet.

Breakdown of the Budget: Here’s Where the Money is Projected to Go

If all goes according to plan, the colossal budget should be spent in the following ways:

  • £633 million toward homeless prevention services, an umbrella term that includes maintaining prevention activities, tending to staff outreach workers, providing temporary accommodations, responding to urgent needs, and delivering homeless resources, to name a few.
  • £281.3 million divided between the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant £37, the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, and the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant. Collectively, these nationally-funded programs aim to get homeless people off the streets and into temporary accommodations and service support systems.
  • £10 million toward long-term support for disadvantaged individuals on the brink of homelessness who are struggling with issues that run the gambit from domestic violence to substance use disorder, from mental health issues to chronic bouts of homelessness and more.
  • £7.6 million to accommodate the staff within the social services sector.
  • £5 million toward Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, with the goal of exiting families and individuals who have spent years (or perhaps even their entire lives in temporary dwelling spaces) into more permanent housing solutions.

Talking a Good Game, But the Trail of Broken Promises Leaves Much to be Desired

If implemented by the regulations set above, “the Plan for Change” could have a lasting and permanent impact, drastically reducing homelessness in a short span. But the problem is, we’ve heard rhetoric like this before. And the trail of broken promises already made could indicate a bleak future if the funding doesn’t wind up where it’s designated to go.

Recently, we discussed the Armed Forces Covenant, a bond drafted by the UK government that proclaimed former soldiers would not face hardships for provisions. This pledge turned out to be little more than lip service for the service men and women who returned home to a desolate state of homelessness. Many of them struggle with unaddressed disabilities along with debilitating physical and mental health conditions.

Ultimately, it’s paramount to remember that homelessness is a housing issue, and housing has no one-size-fits-all fix, particularly amid an affordability crisis the government has yet to contain. Somewhat ironically, one thing the plan appears to be lacking is the construction, maintenance, repair, or even acknowledgment of affordable housing.

Mobile Crisis Supervisor Bruce Lockett, who has decades of experience dealing with rough sleepers, immediately noted that “without more permanent affordable housing on the market, these rough sleepers might simply be cycled through a perpetually revolving door of temporary accommodations and services. Doing that would be expensive and ineffective. While rough sleepers certainly need both of those things, the one thing that all of them need is a home.”

Tell Your Legislators to Stick to the Plan by Making Housing a Human Right for All

Government officials in England are taking a distinctive turn that could potentially yield more positive results compared to what is happening in America. But, the only way we can be certain, given the economic climate and the trail of broken promises behind them, is if legislators get serious about making housing a human right.

Tell your local representatives to make that decision today.


Cynthia Griffith

Cynthia Griffith

     

Cynthia Griffith is a freelance writer dedicated to social justice and environmental issues.

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