‘Andy Burnham is true about ending tough sleeping – but it surely’s simply the tip of homelessness iceberg’
EXCLUSIVE: Shelter CEO Sarah Elliott writes for the Mirror that Andy Burnham ‘must set his sights in ending homelessness for good’ after he pledged to end rough sleeping in his first move as PM
Rough sleeping is ‘only one form of homelessness’, a top charity boss has warned(Image: Getty Images)
Andy Burnham is right that we need to end rough sleeping once and for all.
In 2026, in one of the richest countries in the world, no one should be forced to sleep on the street with only a flimsy tent or shop doorway for shelter.
But we have heard similar promises from Prime Ministers before – so while Mr Burnham is bang on the money about what needs to change, it’s understandable that some people may be raising their eyebrows and asking whether this can really be done.
Right now, England is stuck in the grips of a housing emergency that only seems to get worse. The number of people sleeping rough in England has reached over 4,500, more than doubling since 2010, shooting up by 171%. These figures are a national disgrace and it’s about time they were taken seriously.
But rough sleeping is only one form of homelessness – it is just the tip of the iceberg. More than 176,000 children in England are currently stuck homeless and living in damaging and unstable temporary accommodation — to show the scale of the problem, that is almost as many children as live in Leeds.
When a family becomes homeless, rather than being forced to sleep on the streets, the council has a legal duty to provide them with somewhere to stay, often in what is meant to be short-term temporary accommodation.
But because there are simply not enough genuinely affordable social rent homes available, families can become trapped in ‘temporary’ accommodation for years on end.
At Shelter, we speak to thousands of people trapped in a vicious cycle of temporary accommodation. Many have been moved miles away from their friends, families and communities, while children are forced to share beds in grim, cramped spaces — often infested with mice or even rats.
Among them is Alicia, a single mother whose six-year-old son has spent every single birthday without ever knowing what it feels like to grow up in a safe and stable home of his own.
Ending rough sleeping alone is not enough. Until every family has a safe and stable place to call home, we cannot claim to have ended homelessness.
The only way to end the housing emergency – and all forms of homelessness – is by making housing affordable again, by building the social homes this country desperately needs.
Social rent homes – where rents are linked to local incomes are often the only genuinely affordable route out of homelessness for families.
Burnham has pledge to build more of them. But last year we only managed to build a measly 12,000. It wasn’t always this way. In 1967, nearly half (46%) of all new homes built in England were for social rent.
The crucial difference? Almost all (97%) were delivered by councils. Councils have the experience, local knowledge and determination to build the homes their communities need.
Yet as the housing emergency has grown, they have been left carrying the costs rather than being given the tools to solve it. Last year alone, councils spent a staggering £2.8 billion on temporary accommodation for homeless households – money that could instead be invested in the permanent homes that prevent homelessness in the first place.
So where does that leave us? The political will is there. With Angela Rayner back in post, the Government has a Housing Secretary who understands the importance of social housing, having grown up in a social home herself, and long championed building more of it.
Andy Burnham has come into Government with the right ambition – but he can’t stop at ending rough sleeping, he must set his sights in ending homelessness for good.
A new generation of social homes would provide millions of families with the foundations they need to get on with their lives and give children the stability they need to thrive.
It’s a challenge but we’ve done it before, by backing councils to build homes for their communities – I know we can do it again.
