Housing bodies urge government to reconsider proposals to ban tents

“Working on the frontline of the homelessness crisis, we know all too well the risk to life these punitive laws present, and how they only serve to push people further into destitution,” the letter said.

“We are calling for an urgent reversal of this decision if the government wants to prevent people from dying on our streets, exposed to the cold and all the hardship that rough sleeping entails.

“Sleeping on the street is not a lifestyle choice. Laying blame with people forced to sleep rough will only push people further away from help into poverty, putting them at risk of exploitation. At the extreme end we will see an increase in deaths and fatalities which are totally preventable.”

The charities and organisations called for the government to focus on housing solutions to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping, investing in intervention models that “are proven to work”, such as Housing First.

This helps people into safe, secure housing combined with wraparound services so people can remain off the streets.

The letter said that in the short term, the government should increase housing benefit in the Autumn Statement so people can afford their rent.

It added that, alongside this, there needs to be a reversal of the recent changes to asylum seeker policy that are resulting in people granted settled status being evicted within a matter of days, pushing them into rough sleeping and other forms of homelessness.

“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 letter said.

“Removing the only protection many people depend on and endangering lives cannot be the answer. We remain willing to work with you and the government on genuine solutions to end rough sleeping for good, but these changes gravely undermine any efforts to do so.”

Ms Henderson and Mr Smart criticised Ms Braverman’s proposals and called for a long-term plan for housing.

Ms Henderson said that housing associations play an “important role” in ending homelessness, whether they are specialist organisations or general needs providers, but added that additional funding is also required.

She said on LinkedIn: “This is wrong. I can’t believe I’m even having to say this, but criminalising rough sleepers and the charities that support them is the wrong solution.

“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 for people on lower incomes and a welfare system that ensures people have enough money to live on. We also need funding for services to help prevent homelessness and help those coming off the streets.”

Mr Smart said: “Homelessness, presented in its sharpest form as rough sleeping, is not a lifestyle choice. It is increasing across the country in all forms (on the streets, in B&Bs, hostels, sofa surfing etc) as we don’t have enough affordable homes for people to live in and the cost of living crisis is exacerbating structural issues.

“The data is clear. Private rents are increasing at unprecedented levels, with Local Housing Allowance rates frozen at 2020 amounts, which creates an ever-growing affordability gap. Housing supply is not keeping pace with need and has not done so for decades. This is a housing crisis which requires positive state intervention – the answer is not to blame the victims and punish those trying to help them, which will only make things worse.”

He added: “We need an evidence-based long-term plan for housing which addresses housing need and supports people on lower incomes. This must be underpinned by an effective social security system. We’ve set out more detail on this in our housing strategy.

“We call on the government to use the upcoming King’s Speech and Autumn Statement to take constructive action and to work with partners in trying to address the heartbreaking situation that is homelessness in the 21st century.”

In her comments on X, Ms Braverman said: “Nobody in Britain should be living in a tent on our streets. There are options for people who don’t want to be sleeping rough, and the government is working with local authorities to strengthen wraparound support including treatment for those with drug and alcohol addiction.

“What I want to stop, and what the law-abiding majority wants us to stop, is those who cause nuisance and distress to other people by pitching tents in public spaces, aggressively begging, stealing, taking drugs, littering, and blighting our communities.”

The sector’s letter comes after 119 council leaders signed a letter to urge the government to take “urgent” action as the temporary accommodation crisis worsens and threatens their financial viability.

Paul Price, chief executive of the Association of Retained Council Housing, told Social Housing that the group “fully endorses” the sector’s call for the government to help deal with the crisis.

He said: “Government needs to step in and provide proper and sustained levels of funding to enable councils to provide much-needed homes for families whilst also meeting the costs of funding the current escalating crisis.”

Ms Braverman’s comments and the sector reaction came ahead of the King’s Speech in parliament today. 

The speech, now delivered, did not refer specifically to the plans to ban tents, although briefing notes published to accompany the speech cite plans to tackle “persistent, nuisance, and organised begging” as part of a new Criminal Justice Bill.