Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has urged government officials to adopt more innovative strategies in addressing homelessness. Burnham expressed confidence that homelessness is a solvable issue and criticized government policies that, in his view, contribute to the problem.
The Labour Party has introduced a new National Plan to End Homelessness, aiming to reduce street homelessness by half and eliminate the issue of families being stuck in inadequate accommodations. This plan, supported by £3.5 billion in funding, focuses on preventing households from facing homelessness in the first place.
While acknowledging the progress made in reducing street homelessness in his area by 42%, Burnham emphasized the need for the government’s national efforts to be more ambitious. He advocated for a “housing first” approach and emphasized the importance of providing shelter to everyone in need to ultimately save costs.
Burnham criticized Chancellor Rachel Reeve’s decision to maintain the freeze on housing benefit levels, attributing it to exacerbating homelessness. He also raised concerns about the Home Office’s policy of swiftly evicting asylum seekers, leading to more individuals ending up without shelter.
The time period for asylum seekers to find new accommodation after being granted leave to remain has been reduced from 56 days to 28 days, prompting over 60 homelessness and asylum seeker organizations to call for a reversal of this policy. Burnham highlighted the impact of these decisions on local authorities and emphasized the need for a collaborative approach to prevent homelessness.
Homelessness Minister Alison McGovern responded to Burnham’s comments, emphasizing the government’s commitment to preventing homelessness through strategies like increasing family incomes to address the root causes of homelessness. McGovern stressed the importance of government collaboration in tackling homelessness effectively.