About £1.5 billion could be saved each year in homelessness-related costs if social and affordable housing was prioritised across the UK with increased investment, a group of experts has said.
A report in July from the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee warned that the Government was unlikely to deliver its manifesto commitment to build 300,000 homes a year in England by the mid-2020s after a change in approach. They suggested a mix of about half social housing for people on the lowest incomes, others priced affordably for people starting out on the property ladder, and the rest to be rented or sold at market prices to help subsidise the plan.
Boosting this investment by £4 billion, to a total of £5 billion annually, could therefore see an estimated saving in homelessness-related costs of about £1.5 billion, the researchers said. Right-to-buy schemes ended in Scotland and Wales in recent years and are more restrictive in Northern Ireland. “It is possible to tackle the holy grail of improving everyone’s lives, with benefits accruing the fastest for the most vulnerable. Our report does not rely on polemic but on published data.