Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Youth Homelessness — [Dame Siobhain McDonagh in the Chair]

01 May 2024 · 3 other contributors · 8,699 words

Opened by Paula Barker Lab Liverpool Wavertree

Responding minister: Felicity Buchan

HousingChildren & Families

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Paula Barker raised concerns about youth homelessness — [dame siobhain mcdonagh in the chair] in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Ms Paula Barker is concerned about the multifaceted issues affecting over 136,000 young people experiencing homelessness in England.
  • The government committed to a 2.4 billion investment over three years, including funds for addiction services and support for care leavers.
  • The Minister highlighted the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, which has helped prevent homelessness in over 740,000 cases.

Key requests to Government

Ms. Barker asks the government to commit to developing a national youth homelessness strategy that would improve cross-departmental collaboration and address specific issues such as extending priority need for care leavers up to age 25, exempting them from council tax payments, revising taper rates for supported housing, adopting localised youth homelessness strategies, repurposing single homelessness accommodation programme funds, and removing elements relating to homelessness from the Criminal Justice Bill.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Paula Barker Lab Liverpool Wavertree

Ms. Paula Barker is concerned about the multifaceted nature of youth homelessness, which affects over 136,000 young people in England, and the lack of progress made since 1985 despite previous efforts. She highlights that young people often face barriers such as institutional failure, reduced benefits, shortage of affordable housing, and poor outcomes when seeking support from local councils. The data collected by the Department is inadequate, relying on charities like Centrepoint to estimate numbers through freedom of information requests.

Other contributors (3)
  • Adam Holloway Con Gravesham

    The MP noted the housing shortage due to net immigration, highlighting that 700,000 new people arrived last year while only 150,000 homes were built. He also shared his experience of living homeless and stressed the importance of treating drug addiction as a health issue rather than a criminal one. Highlighted the challenge of accommodating drug-addicted homeless individuals in specific areas, suggesting they need access to main stations or capital cities for financial support. He highlighted the significant impact of alcohol and drug addiction on homelessness, urging the Government to address this issue through cross-Government collaboration.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Jim Shannon highlighted the issue of youth homelessness in Northern Ireland, citing a report by Queen's University that found basic minimum support for children and young people is not being met. He noted an increase in children living in temporary accommodation from 2,433 in January 2019 to 3,913 in July 2022. Shannon called for early intervention programmes to identify at-risk youth in schools and suggested the need for more affordable housing specifically tailored for young people. He raised points about the need for cross-Government working and highlighted issues faced by those with no recourse to public funds, particularly in London.

  • Mike Amesbury Lab Wythenshawe and Sale East

    He highlighted the rise in rough sleeping by 27% last year, despite government spending £2.3 billion. He also pointed out that 145,800 children live in temporary accommodation, a record-high number of families are living in costly temporary accommodation and youth homelessness has increased by 5%. Amesbury called for cross-departmental political leadership to tackle youth homelessness effectively. Mentioned that 30,000 homes for social rent were built in the last year of the Labour Government, questioning the relevance of building one million houses which are out of reach for young people. Highlighted Sadiq Khan's plans to build 40,000 council homes.

Government Response

Felicity Buchan

The Minister acknowledged concerns over youth homelessness and rough sleeping. She outlined £2.4 billion investment over three years, including £186.5 million for addiction services and £9.6 million to support care leavers at high risk of rough sleeping. The Government also committed to building 1 million new homes by the end of this Parliament and restoring local housing allowance rates. She highlighted the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, which has helped prevent homelessness in over 740,000 households since its introduction.

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