House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Homelessness Among Women

Monday 13 April 2026 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

The Department is providing 3.6 billion of funding over three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
This includes 11 million for Newcastle via the homelessness, rough sleeping and domestic abuse grant.
Chi Onwurah highlighted the increased investment is transforming lives in Newcastle.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Chi Onwurah Lab Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West

Housing

Context

The constituency of Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West has a significant homelessness issue, particularly affecting women. The Women's Homelessness Alliance North East recently identified 144 women sleeping rough, far more than previously known.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce levels of homelessness among women in the Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West constituency?

Answer from Alison McGovern

We are providing £3.6 billion of funding over the next three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including £11 million for Newcastle through the homelessness, rough sleeping and domestic abuse grant. Councils can use that funding flexibly to meet the needs of women in their area, which is vital given that, recently, 40% of homeless households were single women or women with children.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about better measurement and monitoring of women's homelessness was not addressed directly.

How: Under Review

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Q2 Chi Onwurah Lab Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West

Housing Women & Equalities

Context

The Women's Homelessness Alliance North East identified a significant number of homeless women in Newcastle, highlighting the need for better data collection and monitoring.

Question

I thank the Minister for that response and welcome the increased investment in tackling homelessness in Newcastle, which is transforming lives. Homeless women are both more vulnerable and less visible. The Women's Homelessness Alliance North East showed recently just how serious a problem this is. Through a proactive and concentrated survey, it identified 144 women sleeping rough—far more than councils were aware of at the time. Without accurate data, it is hard to plan effective support, leaving women at greater risk. What are the Government doing specifically to ensure that women's homelessness is better measured, monitored and dealt with?

Answer from Alison McGovern

My hon. Friend makes the case for women's homelessness and rough sleeping to be better understood. To improve evidence, we added an indicator on gender to the monthly rough sleeping survey, which we published in February 2026, but I encourage all local authorities to listen to the question that she just asked, to consider taking part in the women's rough sleeping census and to understand that domestic abuse is the third biggest reason for homelessness. We need to act on this issue.