Jeremy Hunt pledges ‘housing first’ model to tackle homelessness crisis

Jeremy Hunt has pledged to take a “housing first” approach to ease the homelessness crisis by giving rough sleepers unconditional access to permanent shelter and treatment.

The contender to be the next prime minister said he would commit £30 million to roll out the strategy “immediately” in London and at least two other cities.

There are currently trials in the West Midlands, Liverpool and Manchester, but the Foreign Secretary said he does not believe “we have the time” for the pilots’ results.

Mr Hunt said that if he beats Boris Johnson in the Tory leadership race his proposal could get an extra 1,000 people off the streets in the short term.

The strategy he commits to in an article in The Big Issue would see “immediate or near immediate” access to permanent accommodation for rough sleepers.

There would be no preconditions of treatment access or engagement to secure the housing, and access to treatment would not be tied to any conditions.

Mr Hunt wrote: “This approach operates on the basis of two key principles. That housing is a basic human right, and that once homelessness is resolved other clinical and social issues will be resolved faster.

“This would be an immediate step-change but longer term I will publish a full cross-Government strategy to use every lever at my power to eradicate this scourge.”

This would involve tackling illiteracy and securing access to the housing market for young people, Mr Hunt wrote.

Official data shows the number of people recorded as sleeping on the streets of England rose from 1,768 in 2010 to 4,751 in 2017, but charities warned the true figure could be more than double this.

Homeless deaths are also rising, with statistics showing 597 people sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation died over a 12-month period in England and Wales – a 24% leap from five years earlier in 2013.

It was estimated that two-fifths of deaths were drug or alcohol-related, while one in 10 was due to suicide.

The housing first strategy is popular with charities and campaigners, and has been hailed as having nearly eliminated rough sleeping in Finland’s capital Helsinki.

Crucially, access to permanent housing is unconditional, allowing people shelter even if they are still abusing alcohol or drugs so they can access healthcare services to aid their recovery.

The approach has been widely adopted in Scotland.

The Big Issue said both Tory contenders were challenged to outline their policy on homelessness and Mr Hunt was the first to respond.

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