Save our supported housing: NHF sends letter to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner

The NHF has written to Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner MP, requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the immediate and significant risk to supported housing and homelessness services.  

In the letter, sent by NHF Chief Executive, Kate Henderson, we explained the vital role supported housing plays in transforming lives, giving people a choice about where they live and helping as many people as possible live independently. However, many of these vital services now face closure after years of funding cuts.  

Our research shows that one in three supported housing providers have been forced to close services in the past year, with 60% expecting to close schemes in the future. Without supported housing, 41,000 more people would be homeless, public services like the NHS would be under even more pressure and many more people would be living in homes that don’t meet their needs.  

The government’s own research shows that between 180,700 and 412,800 more supported housing spaces will be needed by 2040. With homes under threat right now, supported housing providers cannot deliver the homes we desperately need without further action. 

In the run up to the Spending Review, we are calling for an urgent review of supported housing funding, including a clear long-term strategy for the financial sustainability of supported housing. To do this, we’re urging the government to introduce: 

• A commitment to long-term, ring-fenced and increased funding for housing-related support at least £1.6bn per year to ensure the continued viability of vital supported housing provision.  
• Funding to integrate health, social care and housing and deliver supported housing strategically.  
• A commitment to at least 180,000 more supported homes by 2040, through improved, more flexible grant funding to deliver supported housing, within a stable long-term rent settlement that must also cover the actual costs of delivering supported housing. 

If you have any questions, please get in touch using the contact details below. Read more about our response to the Autumn Budget and National Insurance Contribution threshold increases here.