Homelessness minister replies to our 20,000-strong open letter

In September, we took a letter to Downing Street, signed by 20,000 Crisis supporters, calling on the Prime Minister to deliver a future free from homelessness. 

It was a huge show of people power. 20,000 of us came together for a future where we all have a safe home – and it certainly got the government’s attention. 

We’ve just had a reply – from the new homelessness minister, Alison McGovern. 

Here are four things her letter says about the progress we're making together.

1 - The Government felt they had to respond to you

We don’t always get a response to actions like this. Their reply shows that our campaigning is cutting through and getting their attention.

And we're influencing what’s on the new Minister’s agenda. Alison McGovern has only been in post since September, and it’s significant that one of her first tasks was to respond to your letter.

2. We now have timeline for their plan on homelessness

Because of your actions, we now have a clear timeline for their promised homelessness strategy. In her letter, the minister said it would be published ‘in due course’.

But she later confirmed in Parliament that the plan would come before the end of the year.

A quick reminder: in their 2024 election manifesto, the UK Government committed to publishing a cross-government strategy to get ‘Britain back on track to ending homelessness.’

This is the firmest commitment we’ve had yet – and when homelessness continues to hit record highs, their plan cannot come soon enough.

3. Preventing homelessness is set to be a core part of their plan

We know that homelessness is not inevitable. With the right action, it can be prevented. So, it’s brilliant to see the Government recognising this in their response.

Alison McGovern set out that she wants to move ‘...away from a system focussed on crisis response, towards a more holistic approach where homelessness is prevented in the first place...’

This is a win and reflects the vision we’ve been calling for together.

4. However, we must make sure positive steps aren’t watered down

In her letter, the minister repeated positive steps the UK Government has taken since coming to power, such as more funding for homelessness services, strengthening renters’ rights and investment in social and affordable housing.

But with recent news that affordable homes targets are to be reduced in London, we need to keep pushing for guarantees that social house building will happen at scale.

Social homes are more affordable and secure than renting privately; they’re a critical route to ending homelessness.

But because of the chronic shortage of social homes and rising homelessness, councils in England are spending a staggering £2.7 billion a year on temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.

We’re clear: social homes must underpin the UK Government’'s plan to get us ‘back on track’ to ending homelessness. Otherwise, they risk propping up a broken system that is simply not working for all of us.

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We will, of course, have to judge the detail of their plan when it’s published.

But this letter shows that together, we're making great progress towards a future free from homelessness.

We are building change, slowly but surely, that will mean a future where all of us have a safe home

If you want to help us achieve that vision, take one of our quick actions to have an immediate impact.