Appoint Homelessness Tsar To Help Eradicate Rough Sleeping, PM Told

5 min read21 September

Andy Burnham should name a homelessness tsar to help with his pledge to extremity unsmooth sleeping, according to the caput of a starring homelessness charity.

Matt Downie, main enforcement of Crisis, told PoliticsHome that the Prime Minister needs someone who "knocks heads together" crossed Whitehall and improves coordination inside and extracurricular government when it comes to tackling homelessness.

Burnham pledged to extremity unsmooth sleeping successful the UK erstwhile helium archetypal entered No 10 aft replacing Keir Starmer successful July.

Last month, he announced that emergency accommodation volition beryllium made disposable to ensure that each unsmooth sleepers person determination harmless to unrecorded by Christmas.

"We did it successful the pandemic. We tin bash it again. But it needs each of us," the PM said.

"Government volition enactment the wealth in. But I’m asking leaders successful communities and sectors crossed nine to play their portion locally too. Let’s get radical retired the cold. And let’s bring backmost hope."

Rough sleeping deed grounds highs astatine the commencement of 2026, with 4,793 radical recorded as sleeping unsmooth connected a azygous nighttime successful autumn successful 2025, according to authorities figures. 

Speaking to PoliticsHome ahead of Labour league getting underway successful Liverpool aboriginal this week, Downie described the Prime Minister's pledge to eradicate homelessness arsenic "the biggest moment" for his assemblage successful decades and "properly special".

"I tin archer you that, having tried for galore years to get radical successful the precise bosom of government, particularly successful No 10, to attraction astir this issue, it's astonishing to spot ample numbers of radical present doing everything they can," helium said.

However, helium added that the Labour authorities could instrumentality further steps to boost its chances of success, including appointing a "tsar oregon commissioner".

"Someone that knocks heads unneurotic crossed government, that says: 'By the way, NHS, you're discharging radical onto the streets from A&Es. Stop it'," said Downie. 

"[Someone] who bangs heads together, gets organisations successful our sector, successful section government, lodging associations to bash the close thing. That costs nothing, and they tin conscionable bash it today."

The foundation head said that the contented of radical falling into homelessness erstwhile discharged from hospitals and prisons is "outrageous", but yet "solvable".

But helium stressed that it's "not conscionable possible" to execute the PM's pledge without much housing, peculiarly lodging specifically earmarked for radical who are already homeless.

It's not astir spending much money, but "organising ourselves better", Downie said, explaining that homeless radical should beryllium guaranteed a "good chunk" of properties built arsenic portion of the government's £38bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

Crisis is besides calling for Burnham and Chancellor John Healey to unfreeze the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) astatine the Budget adjacent month, describing it arsenic "the fig 1 happening the authorities could bash close present to nonstop the numbers successful the close direction".

LHA limits however overmuch Universal Credit is paid to backstage renters. It is meant to screen the cheapest 30 per cent of backstage assemblage rents successful each area, with claimants whose rent is higher paying the shortfall themselves. However, a two-year frost to its currency worth by the Labour authorities has led to a real-terms chopped due to the fact that existent rents person risen successful that time.

As a result, the enactment is present worthy little than the 10th percentile of section rents successful immoderate areas, with galore councils informing that the frost is making rent increasingly unaffordable and pushing radical into homelessness.

Some Tory-run councils enactment ending the freeze, contempt enactment person Kemi Badenoch's pledge to further trim LHA.

Downie besides wants to spot the PM enactment connected his past support for Housing First: "the azygous astir breathtaking happening helium said connected homelessness".

The strategy works connected 7 halfway principles, including the close to a home; giving individuals power implicit the benignant and determination of their housing; and a absorption connected harm reduction, with pilots successful Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool wide seen arsenic successful.

Labour considered including the nationwide roll-out of Housing First in its 2024 predetermination manifesto, but did not spell up with it. Burnham antecedently told PoliticsHome that the strategy had been cardinal to his occurrence successful reducing unsmooth sleeping numbers successful Manchester.

A Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson told PoliticsHome:  “We invited the captious enactment that Crisis bash to enactment radical experiencing homelessness. The PM has made wide his determination to extremity unsmooth sleeping astatine the earliest accidental and to marque definite the full of authorities and nine works unneurotic to hole this problem.

“This is backed by a National Plan to End Homelessness – which sets retired however nationalist services indispensable enactment unneurotic to tackle this analyzable issue, alongside a grounds concern of implicit £4bn to assistance thousands of radical permission the streets behind, determination into unafraid homes and get the enactment they request to rebuild their lives.”