Neil Coyle: There is nothing inevitable about homelessness so let’s work together to tackle this scourge on society

Homelessness can affect anyone – yet it is often not seen as a problem for many groups and can easily be ignored. We know it is life shattering and creates further problems, from loss of confidence to physical and mental health breakdowns. Across Britain every year, tens of thousands of households approach local authorities for support with homelessness and the number of cases of all forms of it has risen dramatically in the last few years.

As a newly elected co-chair (alongside Will Quince) of the all-party parliamentary group for ending homelessness I am pleased to introduce its first report on prevention, looking specifically at what more can be done for those who are most at risk: care leavers, prison leavers, and survivors of domestic violence.

Too often, young people leaving care and ready to transition to adulthood are stopped in their tracks by being unable to access or maintain accommodation, a vital component to becoming independent. Our year-long inquiry found that one third of care leavers become homeless in the first two years after they leave care and 25 per cent of all homeless people have been in care at some point in their lives.

Survivors of domestic violence who need sanctuary and stability are being forced back into dangerous, potentially life threatening, situations or into rough sleeping by a lack of housing support. In 2015, 35 per cent of female rough sleepers left their homes due to domestic violence. Prison-leavers often cannot immediately access housing and are forced onto the streets, left unable to rehabilitate themselves and at high risk of re-offending by a lack of housing provision.

A local authority should know exactly when a care leaver or prison leaver is making the transition from care and institutional life to independence and should be ready and resourced to step in. Similarly, survivors of domestic violence need to be better supported by local authorities and the police. It is essential the government provides the necessary resources to local services so they can better support such people and prevent them falling into homelessness.

The all-party group found that the problems arising from homelessness for these groups are vast and come at a great cost to society. There is currently a lack of joined up government policy and service delivery – both of which are essential to prevent homelessness.

All too often there is an inevitability to homelessness. This report, however, demonstrates that with focused and evidence-based interventions there is nothing inevitable about homelessness for these groups. It also gives government and other decision-makers proposals for action. We are now urging ministers to recognise the growing emergency of homelessness and establish a joined up, cross-government strategy on homelessness prevention among the identified groups. This is essential if ministers are to honour their manifesto commitments to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027.

Neil Coyle is MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark and co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for ending homelessness.