
Commonweal submits homelessness evidence to Public Accounts Committee
Last week, the Committee of Public Accounts released their Tackling homelessness report, which examines rising homelessness, and various local and national government responses. Commonweal submitted evidence to the Committee in November, drawing on commissioned research into homelessness and the private rented sector.
The committee expressed concern about the rising costs of temporary accommodation and the dwindling resources subsequently available for homelessness prevention. The report also queried current Local Housing Allowance rates and their relationship to the rising rate of homelessness, which was a particular focus of the evidence Commonweal submitted.
Amongst other measures, the committee recommended the development of an England-wide homelessness strategy (similar to those produced by the devolved administrations), and more rigorous oversight of supported accommodation.
Commonweal’s evidence, which can be read here, was drawn from the No Access, No Way Out research conducted by Becky Rice for Commonweal in 2024. Along with reporting the lack of accommodation available at Local Housing Allowance rates, Commonweal highlighted the subsequent reliance on costly supported accommodation:
‘This has led to a reduction in the number of HMOs that can be accessed by people reliant on LHA, resulting in less shared accommodation being available … In many cases, this has left supported accommodation as the only option … the report finds that individuals who could potentially manage living independently end up in supported accommodation that is more expensive.’
Commonweal welcomes the suggestion that the DWP consider knock-on effects on homelessness when setting (or freezing) Local Housing Allowance:
‘All UK devolved administrations have an overarching homelessness strategy or action plan. None exists for England, even though this Committee recommended one in 2017 and despite homelessness being affected by government policy in a range of areas. With rents growing far faster than household benefit levels, we are sceptical that the impact on homelessness has been duly considered when setting Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates.’
Commonweal welcomes the report, and will continue to advocate for active homelessness prevention, the delivery of new homes at scale, and widened access to the private rented sector.