Home truths: Housing-led approaches to homelessness

The most meaningful progress has instead come from places where local leaders have made homelessness a priority, driving improvements in both the provision and delivery of homelessness services. At a time where trust in the state is low, rough sleeping is a visible manifestation of the failure of our public services.

National government used the language of 'housing-led' in the homelessness strategy, however, a lack of an agreed upon definition of 'housing-led' means that this is open to differing interpretations. We recommend the following definition be used: 

This work draws on three case study areas: Greater Manchester Combined Authority, North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, and Oxfordshire County Council. These illustrate that housing-led approaches rely on collaborative working between all parts of the public sector, and mayors are well placed to facilitate this across their regions.