Gemma White thinks the government's measures to tackle the causes of homelessness are cause for celebration
You would have to be made of stone to have failed to raise a cheer over the government’s announcement last week, part of the inception of the Homelessness Directorate, that it plans to end bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless families (except in an emergency) by March 2004.

The detrimental effects of this most unpopular form of accommodation on the physical and mental wellbeing and develop-ment of both children and adults have long been known.

Horror tales abound of children who have not learnt to crawl because there is no space, and of babies scalded by hot kettles left on the floor because there is nowhere to keep them from small, inquisitive hands. Relationship breakdowns among previously happy couples forced to live in such close proximity 24 hours a day, have helped taint the term ‘bed and breakfast,’ which used to carry such cosy connotations of floral rooms on seafronts.

Hats off too, to the announcement of a Hostel Inspectorate, praised by homelessness charity Crisis as “an opportunity to shake up the hostel system”.

What else? The implementation of preventative measures to combat homeless-ness at its root causes. Well, as granny always said, prevention is better than cure.

Extra money to sustain the two thirds reduction in rough sleepers already achieved by the Rough Sleepers Unit (a figure still contested by some homelessness organisations) and funding to improve the education and job prospects for homeless people, are all measures that would coax a smile from a concrete elephant.

But (the dreaded ‘but’) housing and homelessness organisations will have to think clearly about the consequences once the celebratory ticker tape has been swept away, and look at how these well-intentioned goals can be achieved.

News that the number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation has hit an all-time high, with 12,110 families living in bed and breakfast and an overall 78,620 households in temporary accommodation in the final quarter of 2001, shows there is still a long way to go.

“We warmly welcomed the announcements by the government, especially the commitment to end the use of bed and breakfast for homeless families,” said Chris Holmes, director of Shelter.

“The figures out today show that the use of temporary accommodation is at an all time high,” he added.

“It is vital that the Treasury backs the pledges made by Stephen Byers by making a firm commitment to providing sustained investment in affordable housing to ensure everyone has a decent, secure and affordable home.”

The great sell-off of council homes under right to buy, and the alarming lack of affordable housing, both existing and in development, are being called into play with the release of the Homelessness Directorate’s report.

So what alternatives does the government propose to house homeless households? And what of the single homeless, the “army of 400,000” as Crisis calls them?

“Bed and breakfast hotels are no more appropriate for vulnerable individuals than they are for families,” said Shaks Ghosh, chief executive of Crisis. “Any target to cut the use of bed and breakfast accommodation should not ignore the plight of single people, some of whom will be suffering from addictions, mental health problems and physical disabilities.”

Tackling the causes of homelessness is a hard, but admirable, target for the Home-lessness Directorate to have set itself.

One organisation that has been implementing a homelessness prevention strategy for four years is Safe in the City, set up by Centrepoint and the Peabody Trust.

“We know how difficult it is to work on homelessness prevention because of the enormous number of people at risk – but that is also the challenge,” says Safe in the City director Nicola Bacon.

“It is easier to intervene when someone is at crisis point, because by then the problem is obvious. Prevention requires a more strategic approach.

“There needs to be a mental shift from working in crisis management to prevention. We must work not only with the person at risk but also with the family unit, so new practice and skills need to be learnt.”

Never has there been a greater need for work in homelessness prevention than following the publication of the government statistics, which show a rise of 23 per cent in the number of households in bed and breakfast accommodation in the year to December 2001.

Violence was involved in two thirds of the cases where relationship breakdowns were the cause of homelessness (22 per cent of the overall figure).

Housing minister Lord Falconer said: “The statistics confirm the need for our new approach to tackling homelessness.

“The national total of homeless people in temporary accommodation has risen to nearly 79,000, with just under 60 per cent in London. This is totally unacceptable. Local authorities must develop ways to prevent people becoming homeless in the first place.

“The figures make bleak reading but they do provide a clear and unequivocal starting point for the Homelessness Directorate in its drive to tackle homelessness.”

A starting point? A good place to start.

Proposed funding

  • £35m to ensure no families with children live in bed and breakfast hotels by March 2004, except in emergency cases
  • £30m to sustain the two-thirds reduction in rough sleeping
  • £60m to fund the Hostel Inspectorate, improve education and job prospects for homeless people and implement preventative policies aimed at tackling the root causes of homelessness
  • £10m of extra funding to change housing benefit regulations so subsidy rates will encourage councils to use alternative accommodation to bed and breakfast.