Our response to Prime Minister Andy Burnham's plan to end rough sleeping by Christmas

Yes, Crisis will play an important role in the national effort to bring everyone rough sleeping in. We want to make sure people who are taken off the streets are supported to build a life that doesn’t lead back to rough sleeping.  

Our Christmas and year-round services will be a critical part of that. Last year, two-thirds of the people we supported through our Christmas hotels did not return to the streets. This Christmas, we’re determined to make our biggest impact yet, supporting thousands of people experiencing some of the most severe forms of homelessness across England, Scotland and Wales. 

The Prime Minister has said that the government will need to rely on the help of charities like Crisis, but we can only take advantage of this once in a generation moment to end rough sleeping if our supporters stand strong and proudly with us. It’s an incredible moment to achieve real, lasting change. So, in 2026, please help us make history and put an end to the danger and trauma of sleeping rough on our streets.  

Yes. It’s great to see the UK Government commit to end rough sleeping in England, but it is very far from job done. The Government has said they can't do it alone and will rely on voluntary contributions and the work of charities - so the truth is we need your support more than ever.  

Crisis will play a vital role in the effort to bring everyone rough sleeping in. Our frontline teams are highly skilled at supporting people in very vulnerable situations who are furthest away from support. They know how to build trust and provide trauma-informed care that puts people onto a path out of homelessness for good. 

The majority of our services are funded by generous donations from the public, and these services will be essential to this effort. We now have a once in a generation opportunity for people to support real change to end one of the worst forms of homelessness. For this reason, there has never been a more important time to donate to Crisis and ensure the greatest impact with your support. 

Yes. The UK Government has said that it can't end rough sleeping in England alone and will need the help of charities and experts in the field. We'll still very much be providing our Christmas services, which are tailored to people in extremely vulnerable circumstances who are furthest away from support.   

Our services will form a vital part of the push to get people off the streets by the end of the year. For this reason, there has never been a more important time to donate to Crisis and ensure the greatest impact with your support. 

We'll be here until we end homelessness for everyone, just as we have for decades, and we still need your support to turn thousands of lives around.   

Both at Christmas and all year round Crisis provides services that focus on proving people one to one support to leave homelessness behind for good. In the hotels we run at Christmas every guest has access to specialist support. We work with people to create a bespoke plan that puts them onto a path out of homelessness. Many of our guests go on to receive year-round support until they are in safe, settled housing. 

The Government has said they want to end rough sleeping in England, so the focus has to extend beyond Christmas. All of us who work in homelessness want to make sure people who are taken off the streets are supported to build a life that doesn’t lead back to rough sleeping. 

The best way to do that is by ensuring people can access good, genuinely affordable housing alongside the support they need to maintain a tenancy. For some people these might be homes in the private rented sector – and this is why Crisis is calling on UK Government to unfreeze housing benefit so that more people can find an affordable rental property. Currently fewer than 2% of properties in Britain are affordable for renters on housing benefit. 

For people with more complex support needs who may have been sleeping rough for long periods, Housing First is the best, evidenced-based solution. It's a programme that priorities immediate, settled housing and is based on the principle that everyone has the right to a safe and stable home, regardless of their support needs or whether they are considered ‘housing ready.’ 

Once a person is moved into permanent housing, they are provided with intensive support, which may include support with substance misuse, physical health or mental health. 

Housing First is proven to end homelessness for around 80 per cent of people with high support needs, with countries like Finland, Canada and the USA reporting a wide range of successes. It’s also been piloted in the UK and, after one year in the programme, 92% of people were living in long-term accommodation and none were rough sleeping. We need to see it rolled out nationwide as a key part of the approach to end rough sleeping.  

Housing First is a programme that prioritises giving people experiencing homelessness who have complex needs safe, settled housing. It’s based on the principle that everyone has the right to a safe and stable home, regardless of their support needs or whether they are considered ‘housing ready’.  

Once a person is moved into permanent housing, they are provided with intensive support, which may include support with substance misuse, physical health or mental health. However, their access to housing is not tied to this support, and their right to housing remains throughout their journey. 

The Housing First model is typically for people who have been sleeping rough for a long time and who have chronic and complex support needs.  

Housing First is proven to end homelessness for around 80 per cent of people with high support needs, with countries like Finland, Canada and the USA reporting a wide range of successes.  

And in the UK, we have a lot of evidence about how Housing First works in practice. The evaluation of the three regional government pilots found that after one year in the programme, 92% of people were living in long-term accommodation and none were rough sleeping. There were also significant improvements seen across other outcomes, including loneliness and contact with the criminal justice system. 

We see people able to sustain tenancies long-term, improvements to health and wellbeing, and more community integration. It also works for the economy – for those with the most complex support needs, it returns benefits well above its cost at roughly £2 saved for every £1 spent.

You cannot end homelessness without homes. In recent years Crisis’ services have found it increasingly difficult to find genuinely affordable, settled homes for the people we support, leaving them trapped in a cycle of homelessness.  

So we’ve decided to take matters into our own hands and intervene directly in the housing market by becoming a not-for-profit landlord ourselves. What this means is that we’ll start to offer people genuinely affordable, secure homes so that they can rebuild their lives away from homelessness.     

We also want to test and demonstrate the outcomes of an approach to homelessness that prioritises settled homes. We intend to use the evidence generated from the programme to influence Government policy on homelessness and housing in England, Scotland and Wales.  

No. The commitment to get everyone a route off the streets by Christmas applies to England only. Homelessness policy is devolved which means governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have the responsibility to address homelessness across their communities. At Crisis we are campaigning for the long-term changes needed to end all forms of homelessness for everyone across England, Scotland and Wales.   

More about our work in Scotland.  

More about our work in Wales.