UK Inquiry Tracker

COVID-19: Housing rough sleepers

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 17 Dec 2020 Closed: 17 May 2021 Parliament page

Rough sleepers are often highly vulnerable, and typically have far more underlying health conditions than other members of society. Rough sleepers were especially vulnerable during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic , when their homelessness led to difficulties following Public Health England’s advice on self-isolation, social distancing and hygiene. … Read more

7 Recommendations

14 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

3 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 6 events

31 Aug
2021

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty-ninth report from Session 2019-21

15 Jun
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, re Public Accounts Comm…

17 Mar
2021

Report published

Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: housing people sleeping rough

1 Mar
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re Vaccination against COVID-19 for outre…

23 Feb
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Public Accounts Committee Chair Meg Hillier to Sir Chris Wormald KCB Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Soci…

25 Jan
2021

Oral evidence

COVID-19: Housing rough sleepers

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

25 Jan 2021

View on parliament.uk

COVID-19: Housing rough sleepers

Baroness Casey of Blackstock · Rough Sleeping Taskforce Jeremy Pocklington · Ministry of Defence Penny Hobman · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: housing people sleeping rough	HC 934	17 Mar 2021	21	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

9 results

2 Recommendation Rejected

Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: hou…

The Department still does not have a plan for achieving its target of ending rough...

The Department still does not have a plan for achieving its target of ending rough sleeping by 2024, and risks failing to capitalise on the successes of Everyone In. Following the general election in December 2019 the government began this … Read more The Department still does not have a plan for achieving its target of ending rough sleeping by 2024, and risks failing to capitalise on the successes of Everyone In. Following the general election in December 2019 the government began this Parliament with a manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by May 2024: only three years from now. This brought forward the government’s previous commitment, which had been to end rough sleeping by May 2027. In February 2020 the Department commissioned a review of its 2018 rough sleeping strategy towards meeting its new target but, owing to the prioritisation given to dealing with the pandemic, this has not yet been conducted. Not only does the Department not have a plan for ending rough sleeping by 2024, it also has not worked out how to define what ‘ending’ rough sleeping means or how it will measure and report on progress in a meaningful way. To end rough sleeping will certainly involve addressing the wider lack of availability of supported housing and affordable housing. The Department’s evidence shows that 80% of rough sleepers have mental health needs and a significant majority have substance abuse which underlines the importance of providing appropriate wraparound care to provide a sustainable pathway out of rough-sleeping. In 2017 this Committee recommended that the Department launch a cross-government strategy for addressing homelessness in the round, which could have helped it to address this issue, but it has so far failed to do so. Recommendation: The Department must, before summer recess, publish at least a draft strategy for how it will achieve its goal of ending rough sleeping by 2024. This should set out its definition of ‘ending’ rough sleeping, how it will measure and report progress in achieving and maintaining this goal, and the capacity of supported and affordable housing required to reduce the flow of people onto the streets towards zero for the long term. Show less

Government Response

The government explicitly rejects the recommendation to publish a draft strategy for ending rough sleeping by summer recess, citing the need for sufficient time for development and alignment with the forthcoming 2021 Spending Review.

HM Treasury

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3 Recommendation Rejected

Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: hou…

The size of the rough sleeping population and those at risk of rough sleeping is...

The size of the rough sleeping population and those at risk of rough sleeping is far higher than the snapshot the Department is relying on, exposing the inadequacy of its current approach to data collection and reporting. One consequence of … Read more The size of the rough sleeping population and those at risk of rough sleeping is far higher than the snapshot the Department is relying on, exposing the inadequacy of its current approach to data collection and reporting. One consequence of 6 COVID-19: housing people sleeping rough Everyone In has been that for the first time the Department has publicly acknowledged the scale of the rough sleeping population over the course of a year. The number of people assisted under Everyone In from the end of March 2020 to the end of January 2021 (37,430) is nearly nine times the number in its official snapshot of the number of people sleeping rough on one night in autumn 2019 (4,266), its last such measure before the pandemic. This illustrates that there is a churn of people moving onto and off the streets during the year, something which cannot be captured by a single snapshot. In spite of the Everyone In initiative (and other measures, such as a ban on evictions in the private rental sector), this churn continued during 2020, with Data collected by the Department from local authorities apparently showing numbers of people on the streets growing again over the summer, although the number recorded in the official snapshot taken in autumn 2020 was 2,688, a reduction of 37% on the 2019 figure. In February 2021 the Department began publishing monthly rolling estimates of rough sleeping numbers, which should belatedly improve Parliament’s capacity to monitor the Department’s performance. The Department’s most recent snapshot shows that rough sleeping has fallen 43% with 2,688 people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2020, compared to 4,677 in 2018. The Department must continually scrutinise and improve its own data collection system to make sure it is up to date in monitoring the rough sleeping population. Recommendation: To support proper accountability, the Department must ensure it continues to publish its monthly data on numbers of people sleeping roug Show less

Government Response

The government rejects the recommendation to continually publish monthly rough sleeping data, stating the data source is new, its focus remains on the pandemic response, and it will update the committee regularly on progress rather than committing to monthly publication.

HM Treasury

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5 Recommendation Rejected

Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: hou…

The Department has provided mixed messages to local authorities on how to support people sleeping...

The Department has provided mixed messages to local authorities on how to support people sleeping rough who have no recourse to public funds, and has no long-term plan for those who have been taken into hotels. Local authorities are generally … Read more

Government Response

The government explicitly rejects the recommendation, stating it continues to work with the Home Office and local authorities, but clarifies that decisions on support for individuals with no recourse to public funds remain the responsibility of local authorities.

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8 Recommendation Rejected

Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: hou…

The Department’s current Rough Sleeping Strategy was launched in August 2018, with a commitment to...

The Department’s current Rough Sleeping Strategy was launched in August 2018, with a commitment to end rough sleeping by 2027.22 In December 2019 the new Government was elected with a manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by May 2024, three … Read more

Government Response

The government explicitly rejects the recommendation to publish a new rough sleeping strategy within six months, citing the need for sufficient time for development and alignment with the forthcoming 2021 Spending Review. It confirms a commitment to ending rough sleeping and will consider a definition for it.

HM Treasury

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10 Recommendation Rejected

Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: hou…

Tackling rough sleeping on its own without addressing homelessness as a whole may even worsen...

Tackling rough sleeping on its own without addressing homelessness as a whole may even worsen other measures of homelessness, if it means only placing more people in temporary accommodation, thereby adding to the number of homeless households.29 Baroness Casey told … Read more Tackling rough sleeping on its own without addressing homelessness as a whole may even worsen other measures of homelessness, if it means only placing more people in temporary accommodation, thereby adding to the number of homeless households.29 Baroness Casey told us that, in her opinion, not only was a review of the Rough Sleeping Strategy still needed, but there should be a more expansive review which took into account “wider aspects of homelessness, particularly families in temporary accommodation”.30 This would be in line with both the previous recommendations of this Committee and the Department’s commitments in response. In 2017 this Committee recommended that the Department “publish a cross-government strategy for reducing […] all measures of homelessness”.31 The Department accepted this recommendation, announcing its plans to publish a strategy for rough sleeping as only a first step, and promising subsequently to “develop a broader strategy to ensure progress is made on wider issues relating to all forms of homelessness and homelessness prevention”.32 It has yet to implement this commitment. That the Department’s 2024 target is explicitly framed as ending rough sleeping implies not just the housing of all those on the streets at a particular point in time, but a long-term, sustainable reduction in factors which have historically caused people to start sleeping 22 Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Rough Sleeping Strategy, August 2018, Cm 9685, para 1. 23 Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, “Prime Minister pledges new action to eliminate homelessness and rough sleeping”, press release, 23 December 2019. 24 C&AG’s Report, para 2.21. 25 Q 14. 26 C&AG’s Report, para 2.21. 27 C&AG’s Report, para 18. 28 Qq 70–71. 29 House of Commons Library, Statutory homelessness in England, Briefing Paper 01164, 26 November 2020, p 3. 30 Q 67. 31 Public Accounts Committee, Homeless households, Eleventh Report of Session 2017–19, HC 462, Decem Show less

Government Response

The government disagrees with the recommendation for a more expansive review covering wider aspects of homelessness, instead stating its commitment to ending rough sleeping and considering underlying causes with cross-government partners. It will also consider a definition of ending rough sleeping.

HM Treasury

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11 Conclusion Rejected

Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: hou…

The Department publishes one official measure of rough sleeping, its annual snapshot, which estimates the...

The Department publishes one official measure of rough sleeping, its annual snapshot, which estimates the number of people sleeping rough on one night every autumn.34 The latest annual snapshot of figure before the pandemic, taken in autumn 2019 was 4,266.35 … Read more

Government Response

The government rejected the implicit recommendation related to data publication, explaining that the new data source requires careful consideration and analysis. They stated their focus is on the pandemic response and using data to inform policy decisions, and they will regularly update the Committee on progress.

HM Treasury

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12 Conclusion Rejected

Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: hou…

In June 2020 the Department began regular data collections from local authorities on numbers of...

In June 2020 the Department began regular data collections from local authorities on numbers of people sleeping rough in their area.40 In spite of the Everyone In initiative (and other measures, such as a ban on evictions in the private … Read more

Government Response

The government rejected the implicit recommendation to publish all summer/autumn 2020 data, stating the data source is new and needs careful consideration, and their focus is on the pandemic response. They confirmed publishing snapshots up to January 2021 and will update the Committee regularly on progress.

HM Treasury

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16 Conclusion Rejected

Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: hou…

The immigration status of people sleeping rough who are non-UK nationals can affect their legal...

The immigration status of people sleeping rough who are non-UK nationals can affect their legal entitlement to benefits. In some cases these are immigrants from countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA), whose visas impose the condition that they have … Read more

Government Response

The government explicitly rejected the committee's implicit recommendation regarding the support for individuals with 'no recourse to public funds', reiterating that the responsibility and judgement for providing support lies with local authorities, as existing rules have not changed. They also noted ongoing work with partners across government to consider the role of immigration policy in ending rough sleeping.

HM Treasury

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17 Conclusion Rejected

Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: hou…

At the outset of Everyone In, the Department gave a clear message to local authorities...

At the outset of Everyone In, the Department gave a clear message to local authorities that, as this was a public health emergency, they were to bring everyone in (“whether they are from Bromley or Portugal”), irrespective of immigration status … Read more At the outset of Everyone In, the Department gave a clear message to local authorities that, as this was a public health emergency, they were to bring everyone in (“whether they are from Bromley or Portugal”), irrespective of immigration status or entitlement to benefits.62 At the end of May, however, this messaging became more ambiguous, with the Department writing to local authorities to remind them that they could only legally accommodate people who were ineligible for benefits following an individual assessment of risks to life.63 The Department denied that it had in mind a particular number, in terms of a reduction in support for people with no recourse to public funds, that it wanted to achieve by sending this letter.64 From this point, however, the support offered by different local authorities to these cohorts of people became increasingly divergent, with some ceasing to take in new people or seeking to move on those who were already in emergency accommodation.65 The Department implied to us that this divergence purely reflected the differing progress of the pandemic in different parts of the country, rather than differing approaches taken by local authorities within the same area and faced with similar levels of demand.66 Some local authorities, meanwhile, experienced difficulties in supporting people from these cohorts to move into more settled accommodation, because of their ineligibility for benefits: this meant they were unable to receive Local Housing Allowance and other assistance to move into the private rental sector, for instance.67 Baroness Casey confirmed to us that, under current rules, local authorities were unable to help these cohorts of people to move into more settled accommodation.68 At the end of September, there were around 2,000 people staying in hotels and other emergency accommodation in London 57 Qq 25, 5. 58 Q 3. 59 C&AG’s Report, para 2.10. 60 Q 33; C&AG’s Report, para 2.10. 61 C&AG’s Report, para 2.10. 62 Q 44. 63 Ministry of Hous Show less

Government Response

The government disagrees with the committee's assessment regarding ambiguous messaging and difficulties in supporting individuals with no recourse to public funds (NRPF). It reiterates that existing rules for NRPF individuals have not changed, and local authorities are responsible for individual assessments, while also highlighting the Home Office's Rough Sleeping Support Service.

HM Treasury

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Government Response AI assessment · 21 of 7 classified

Accepted 7

Accepted in Part 3

Not Addressed 2

Rejected 9

Total 7 recs + 14 conclusions

Correspondence 3 letters

15 Jun 2021 Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, re Public Accounts Committee 49th Report. COVID-19: housing people sleeping rough – Update on Recommendation 6, dated 2 June 2021

Parliament page

1 Mar 2021 Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re Vaccination against COVID-19 for outreach workers helping rough sleepers, dated 23 February 2021

Parliament page

23 Feb 2021 Correspondence from Public Accounts Committee Chair Meg Hillier to Sir Chris Wormald KCB Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re Vaccination against COVID-19 for outreach workers helping rough sleeper, dated 12 February 2021

Parliament page