Charities, led by St Mungo’s, said the changes will lead to a rise in homelessness
Planned welfare cuts designed to get people back into work will actually increase homelessness, according to an open letter issued to the UK Government from the homelessness sector.
St Mungo’s is the lead signatory of the letter, along with 13 other homelessness organisations including YMCA and Homeless Link - with the concerns being sent to Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall MP.
They warn that cutting vital benefits will push more people into poverty and destitution, and make it harder for those already affected by homelessness to rebuild their lives.
Measures set out in the government’s Pathways to Work green paper will be voted on in parliament next week and will include limiting access to and reducing health-related benefits such as PIP and Universal Credit.
In the open letter, the signatories state that these benefits are vital to people dealing with the extra costs of health conditions, with many of the people they support relying on them to help fund counselling, cover travel expenses to medical appointments, and even pay for essentials such as food, rent and utilities.
The signatories claim without this extra financial support people affected by homelessness will struggle to cover their expenses, which risks their recovery and a potential slide back into homelessness.
According to government data some 62,040 households with physical ill health and disability needs faced homelessness in 2023/24, compared with 35,860 in 2018/19.
Between October to December 2024, just over a fifth (21%) of households facing homelessness had some sort of physical ill health or disability.
Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s, said: “For the thousands of people affected by homelessness, these planned welfare reforms run counter to the Government’s ambition to give people the support they need to get back to work. Instead, we conclude that the proposed changes will increase the number of people at risk of becoming homeless for the first time, increase the number of people we have helped resolve their homelessness fall back into it, and increase the length of time it takes to resolve people’s homelessness in the future.
“Many people rely on these benefits to manage complex health conditions as part of their recovery from homelessness and pay for essential utilities. With already eyewatering rents, these benefits help people cover their additional costs. Without them, we fear people will be increasingly unable to afford to secure somewhere safe to live. Homelessness has already pushed these people to the edge. We should be supporting them to rebuild their lives, not creating more challenges for them to overcome.
“That’s why, with other organisations in the sector, we are asking the Government to rethink these reforms, so that we can prevent more people becoming homeless and those affected by homelessness can quickly and permanently recover from it. That is how the Government can really achieve its ambition of helping more people into work.”
A UK Government spokesperson told the Herald: “We will never compromise on protecting people who need our support, and our reforms will mean the social security system will always be there for those who will never be able to work.
“At the heart of the government’s reforms is a £1 billion scheme to help the long-term sick or disabled out of poverty and into good, secure jobs.
“We have also raised the national living wage, increased benefits and given additional help to the poorest households, as part of our Plan for Change.”
