By Grace Thompson
Boris’ has unveiled a new promise of ‘build, build, build’. Anyone who can recall Blair’s mantra of ‘education, education, education’ will know that the three-word slogan isn’t a new thing, and such slogans are often seen to be the magic recipe for change. It just didn’t seem to work with ‘Brexit means Brexit’ or ‘strong and stable’.
The stability of Boris Johnson’s ‘New Deal’ is in question, particularly for those in society who arguably need a ‘New Deal’ the most – the homeless. The £12bn for affordable homes is commendable, as are various other home-building measures outlined in the plans. None of them, however, seem to directly equate to housing those without a home, especially those who sleep rough or sofa surf from one house to the next. People staying in emergency accommodation aren’t usually at the stage of looking for affordable housing immediately. Nor are discounts for first time buyers usually relevant either. At the point of emergency, many simply want a secure roof over their head.
One positive aspect to come out of the Government’s plans is the use of £400m for 24,000 homes (the Brownfield Land Fund) at the discretion of the 7 regions it has been given to. Greater regional power is perhaps the hidden key to fighting homelessness in the future. Just as we are now tackling COVID-19 by imposing local lockdowns and concentrating on hotspots, we can fight homelessness by spotting patterns and drawing links in areas and demographics. Rather than labelling one root generic cause for homelessness, there will sometimes be different causes in different towns, cities, regions and countries. The introduction of City Mayors in the UK has done wonders for more direct oversight over regional problems. The ability is there to target resource on issues that may look very different in Greater Manchester, for example, than they do in West Yorkshire. Perhaps these powers will even be strengthened in the future.
To pretend we are not in a very difficult financial position as a country is unrealistic. As tens of thousands of people lose jobs, the need for a stronger welfare net is imperative and the risk of homelessness will undoubtedly rise.
Across the pond, Australia is already working innovatively, despite the pandemic, to begin to eradicate homelessness. In a Guardian article from June 2020 it is reported that New South Wales, for example, has already put up $36 million to secure homes from the private rental market, to try and get people out of the insecure hotel accommodation they were in previously.
Perhaps now is the time for homelessness policy in the UK to receive a creative boost. Housing First initiatives across the UK have been broadly successful, so perhaps it is time to think how to turn them from an experiment to a policy norm? Although this is definitely not the holistic solution to homelessness, we have to start somewhere. Though I would respectfully suggest that pithy slogans are not the starting point!
Grace Thompson
https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-h-thompson