With the Government on the verge of publishing their first Budget, we wrote a letter to Manchester Central’s MP Lucy Powell. We wanted to share our ideas, concerns, and hopes that we have for upcoming decisions to be made in government, as well as inviting Lucy to come and visit our on-the-ground work in homelessness. 

The letter can be read here. 

We expressed our excitement at hearing and seeing a renewed focus on building more social homes. We have recognised for a long time that this is essential to alleviating restraints and barriers in the homelessness system. However, we have yet to see focus, clarity, and commitment to how this new housing will be affordable and appropriate for the people we support, and how people in vulnerable positions will be safeguarded in the private rented sector until houses are built.

We also note that there is a distinct lack of focus on policy and budgeting commitments in regards to homelessness. Many of the people we support struggle with multiple complex needs that need to be addressed by not just the housing system, but the health and social care, justice, welfare, and other systems. Without a robust, cross-departmental approach to homelessness, that includes the force and effort that is currently being put into housing, we fear that the appropriate support and trauma-informed environments that our guests can thrive in will remain the same - limited and out of reach. 

Our letter expressed six asks of our MP that reflect what we want to see changed to address the above issues: 

1. To advocate to parliament and housing ministers for a swift set up of the cross-departmental homelessness unit with clear targets of how homelessness will be addressed in the housing crisis as a multi-disciplinary issue. 

2. To advocate in the autumn budget and spring spending review for homelessness funding to be adequately allocated and to be ring fenced and long-term.

3. To advocate for regular consultations and collaborations with people of lived experience of homelessness and charities supporting those through homelessness in major decisions regarding housing, homelessness, and affordability. 

4. To advocate for a defined target of affordable housing which can be used to hold developers and local authorities to account, and that this matches and changes with the current economic climate.

5. To advocate for a focus on removing or suspending Right to Buy and how it will be appropriately implemented to local authorities.

6. To advocate for the Renters (Reform) Bill to be implemented sooner to protect private renters currently in the sector. 

The main area that we hope to see addressed is social support. Homelessness is a symptom of a wider issue of inequality and poverty. Cutting social areas such as health, education, and welfare pushes more people into situations of crisis. It is often these situations that result in people living in poverty and at high risk of homelessness. We believe that a preventative approach that betters people’s opportunities to move out of poverty and prevent homelessness is a sincere way to resolve homelessness. However this cannot be done if cuts are being made in other areas which lead to poorer outcomes and opportunities for individuals. We're hoping that the budget won't return us to austerity, and that the government will continue to put those in most need at the centre of policy and budgetary decisions.