On 10 December, the Government published its cross-departmental homelessness and rough sleeping strategy for England, A National Plan to End Homelessness. The strategy sets out a long-term ambition to halve long-term rough sleeping, end the use of B&Bs for families, and prevent more households from becoming homeless—backed by a £3.5 billion funding package for homelessness prevention and rough sleeping services.
The strategy presented a unique opportunity for different parts of government to come together to tackle this urgent issue. Yet the plan does not go far enough to address how immigration and asylum policies actively drive rough sleeping and homelessness. People leaving the asylum system represent the second largest group sleeping rough after exiting a public institution. And as the strategy acknowledges, migrants are disproportionately represented in homelessness statistics with 27% of people sleeping rough in England being non-UK nationals.
The strategy outlines targeted prevention measures for groups at higher risk of homelessness, including newly granted refugees who face barriers such as limited support networks, housing knowledge gaps, and restricted employment opportunities. However, unlike provisions for people leaving prisons, hospitals, and care, the strategy introduces no tangible, measurable targets to reduce homelessness among people leaving Home Office accommodation.
The strategy rightly recognises that ‘supporting integration early is critical to reducing the risk of homelessness and enabling refugees to contribute fully to the communities that provide them sanctuary’. Commitments from the Home Office to improve data sharing with councils to facilitate early intervention, and to improve access to early advice and guidance on housing and employment for people seeking asylum, are positive. However, they do not address the fundamental issue repeatedly raised by local authorities and frontline services: that giving 28 days notice for people to leave asylum accommodation is simply too short to meaningfully support people to avoid homelessness. Extending the move-on period, giving asylum seekers the right to work after six months, and guaranteeing timely access to English language provision would all make a significant contribution to early integration
Any credible attempt to tackle rough sleeping among non UK nationals must recognise that once pushed into homelessness and destitution by immigration policies, many migrants are prevented from accessing the support needed to resolve their homelessness as a result of their immigration status. A truly effective cross-departmental approach to ending homelessness must address the policies—such as No Recourse to Public Funds conditions—that push people into destitution and deny them access to support. Without confronting these structural barriers, prevention efforts will remain limited in impact.
The strategy proposes funding a homeless migrants capability training package for councils and voluntary sector organisations, and highlights a pilot running in four council areas providing immigration advice and short-term accommodation for people sleeping rough with restricted or unknown eligibility to public funds. With experience from the NACCOM network demonstrating that immigration advice and stable accommodation are vital for migrants to find routes off the streets, we welcome this pilot. However, the scale of migrant homelessness requires more ambitious action. Likewise, announced increases in immigration legal aid, whilst much needed, fall short of the comprehensive reform needed to end legal aid deserts and ensure accessible support nationwide.
Recent and proposed immigration and asylum policy reforms suggest that the ambition of joined-up, cross departmental thinking around tackling homelessness may not be translating to policy making on asylum and immigration, as evidenced by this week’s National Audit Office report.
Without clearer accountability for the Home Office and stronger collaboration between asylum, housing, welfare, and voluntary services, the strategy will ultimately fall short of its aim: to end homelessness and rough sleeping and make sure that everyone has access to a safe, decent and secure home.
