While the Labour Manifesto does not specifically mention temporary accommodation, the Shadow Homelessness Minister until the election was called, Mike Amesbury MP, has repeatedly spoken about its impact and been critical of rising statistics. At a Labour Party Conference event last autumn held by the Households in Temporary Accommodation All Party Parliamentary Group, Amesbury affirmed the importance of getting a “referee on the pitch” to improve standards in TA, and has lamented that 100,000 children spending Christmas in TA is “not a vision for modern Britain”.
While homelessness is entirely solvable with the right will and resources, it is multifaceted and complex, impacted by issues that cut across government departments. It is therefore hugely welcome that Labour will prioritise ending homelessness through the development of a “cross-government strategy, working with Mayors and Councils across the country, to put Britain back on track to ending homelessness”. Led by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, the establishment of this “Ending Homelessness Unit” is a sign that addressing the housing emergency could be central to Labour’s government. Angela Raynor has spoken about this on multiple occasions.
Given the leading role TA has in driving our abysmal record on homelessness, we expect TA to be at the heart of any ending homelessness strategies this new unit develops. It remains to be seen what areas they will prioritise, but we hope to see clear, targeted action to address the harm caused by TA on multiple fronts including health, poor standards, lack of support, inaccessibility, and out-of-area placements. In addition to building truly affordable social housing, so people have somewhere to go from TA and indeed may never need it in the first place, we desperately need to implement short-term solutions to make experiences safer and healthier for the 112,000 households living there right now. This includes enforcing minimum living standards including kitchen facilities and accessibility adaptations, and ensuring councils are adequately resourced to provide holistic support, as included in the seven recommendations from the Households in TA APPG.