Boost Local Housing Allowance To Tackle Rough Sleeping, Says Andy Burnham
3 min read
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and homelessness charity Crisis have jointly called for the government to increase Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to help tackle homelessness.
The charity's chief executive, Matthew Downie, said that the move must be announced in the Budget this month, with homelessness at "record levels" in the UK.
New research by Crisis has found that 300,000 families and individuals across England now experience the worst forms of homelessness, including sleeping rough, living in unsuitable temporary accommodation like B&Bs or hostels, and in tents or squats.
Last month, the Museum of Homelessness found that 1,611 people died while homeless in the UK in 2024, a nine per cent increase on the previous year.
The LHA sets the amount of benefits that private tenants receive from the government to help pay rent.
The rates were frozen for four years until April 2024, when the previous Conservative government agreed to raise them. However, they were frozen again by the Labour government earlier this year, with Crisis now estimating that less than 3 per cent of homes nationwide would be affordable for people relying on benefits.
"The freezing of housing benefits over many, many years, which goes back into the last government, has meant that something that should cover the bottom 30 per cent of rents now only covers less than 3 per cent of rents. And, in some parts of the country, none whatsoever," Downie told PoliticsHome.
"It's just impossible for people to avoid homelessness.
"We're not talking about stereotypes of people with support needs or mental health problems and all those sorts of things. We're talking about people who simply, even when they're working, can't afford to rent."
He was echoed by Burnham, who said the Labour government "must go further" to make housing more affordable for those on low incomes and tackle rough sleeping.
“Tackling homelessness must be a shared national mission, and we stand ready to support the government's forthcoming homelessness strategy," said the mayor, in comments shared exclusively with PoliticsHome.
"We welcome the progress in affordable housing investment and renters’ protections, but now we must go further.
"Restoring LHA to reflect real rental costs and accelerating the delivery of council and social homes would make a real difference in preventing homelessness.
“In Greater Manchester, we are ready to play our part and work with government, local authorities, housing providers and charities like Crisis to ensure that everyone has a safe, secure and healthy home.”
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.
Their joint call was supported by co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ending Homelessness, Labour MP Paula Barker, who told PoliticsHome it would be a "really, really important" step in tackling rough sleeping.
Labour MP for Salford and former Labour leadership candidate, Rebecca Long-Bailey, also backed the intervention, describing current LHA rates as "insufficient" and "dragging huge numbers of people into poverty".
"It doesn’t keep pace with rapidly escalating private rents in places like Salford, and the freeze pushes more and more people into poverty, or worse, homelessness," she said.
PoliticsHome reported last week that the government planned to host homelessness summits with MPs and stakeholders this month as part of its work to develop a new homelessness strategy.
Figures like Charity boss Downie have expressed concern that momentum within the Labour administration to tackle the issue seems to have waned since the departure of Angela Rayner in the September reshuffle.
Rayner resigned as housing secretary, as well as deputy prime minister, after being found to have breached the ministerial code over unpaid stamp duty.
"There was a period of time where the sector was very close to Angela Rayner, and there was a lot of active conversation...
"It's gone quiet; if I'm honest with you, it's gone quiet," Downie told PoliticsHome.
