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Sector unites against Braverman’s ‘punitive’ homelessness plans
Housing sector bodies and charities have united to call on the government to “urgently reconsider” plans that could criminalise the use of tents by people sleeping rough.
The sector has described home secretary Suella Braverman’s plans as “punitive” after she announced restricting the use of tents for people experiencing homelessness, and argued that some people see it as a “lifestyle choice”.
However, the plans have sparked anger from homelessness charities, as well as the National Housing Federation (NHF) and the Chartered Institute of Housing.
A letter to Ms Braverman, signed by 15 organisations, said the plans will push people further into poverty and make them “at risk of exploitation”.
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The letter said: “We strongly urge you to reconsider these measures, which will result in harm to thousands of people who have no option but to sleep in a tent, or on the streets, as they have no home of their own.”
The proposals by the home secretary come at a time when the government’s target of ending rough sleeping by next year is long out of reach, after new data revealed the largest quarterly increase in people forced to sleep rough in London since the pandemic.
The letter also echoed calls made last week by more than 100 councils for an increase in housing benefit.
It also warns that the removal of tents will see “an increase in deaths and fatalities which are totally preventable”.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the NHF, branded the government’s proposed approach as “wrong”.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, she wrote: “Being homeless isn’t a lifestyle choice, it’s a failure of housing and welfare policy. It doesn’t have to be this way. We need a long-term plan for social housing and funding for services to help prevent homelessness.”
According to a report in the Financial Times, the plans could be included in a new criminal justice bill in tomorrow’s King’s Speech. The proposals would reportedly replace elements of the 1824 Vagrancy Act, which the government has previously said it would repeal.
In response, a Home Office spokesperson said: “We want to ensure our communities feel safe and secure. That’s why, through our Anti-Social Behaviour Plan, we introduced a package of new measures to better equip the police and local authorities to respond to nuisance begging and rough sleeping which can be harmful to individuals themselves and to the wider public.”
An online petition calling on Ms Braverman and Rishi Sunak to abandon the plans has so far been signed by nearly 92,000 people.
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