Greater Manchester Combined Authority has faced increasing pressures to resolve the homelessness crisis currently spreading across Greater Manchester.
Since 2017 Greater Manchester’s ten councils and the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, have been at the forefront of efforts to end rough sleeping and prevent homelessness.
However, 2022 saw a 13% rise for the first time in five years to 102 cases, and a further increase to 145 cases in August 2023.
It is expected that the official count, which takes place next month, will see numbers climb even more.
Paul Dennett, Greater Manchester Combined Authority Portfolio Lead for Homelessness, said: “I’ve been immensely proud of our record here in Greater Manchester, seeing year-on-year reductions in rough sleeping since 2017.
“Our councils, housing providers, health, probation services, Greater Manchester Police and our voluntary and faith sectors have all come together to work collaboratively with our two missions of reducing rough sleeping by getting people the support they urgently need and a roof over their head, and to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place.
“I’m therefore saddened to see that despite all our best efforts, the numbers are now going up because of decisions made by central government but it is left to cash-strapped local government to pick up the pieces.”
These increases have happened despite multi-million-pound investments in the city region’s homelessness responses, resulting in over 5,000 households in temporary accommodation.
The number of rough-sleepers as a result of ‘no fault’ evictions is at its highest, which has increased by 41% over the last twelve months.
The gap has opened between Greater Manchester and national comparators as there are now 21 ‘no fault’ eviction cases per 100,000 population in Greater Manchester versus only 11.4 cases per 100,000 on average across England.
Due to the Home Office increasing the number of asylum decisions, the effects will result in a doubling or trebling of homelessness due to evictions in the asylum system within Greater Manchester.
This pressure can result in increased homelessness risk and there has been a significant increase recorded in the number of non-UK nationals accessing A Bed Every Night.
Dennett said: “I wrote to the Home Secretary in June outlining Greater Manchester’s concerns about the cumulative impact government policy decisions over many years have had on homelessness and rough sleeping from asylum policy to the freezing of Local Housing Allowance rates.
“I will be writing again to the government to make clear our concerns with current Home Office policies and the devastating impact it is having on increasing homelessness in our towns and cities.”
A report approved by Greater Manchester Combined Authority leaders proposed a range of solutions to be put forward to combat the challenges posed by circumstances outside local control.
Support Greater Manchester’s Mayor’s Charity to reduce and prevent homelessness across Greater Manchester: https://gmmayorscharity.org.uk/
