Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has plans to undertake a (a) trial and (b) evaluation of Housing First for under-25s, including people who are not entrenched rough sleepers.

Piloting Housing First was a 2017 manifesto commitment and was first announced at the Autumn Budget 2017. It is an important element of the Government’s effort to end rough sleeping by 2027. It will build on the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act, and the new Rough Sleeping Initiative that the previous Secretary of State announced on 30 March.

The Housing First Pilots that Government are funding in West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region combined authorities will provide support to rough sleepers with the most complex needs, regardless of their age. The £28 million funding also includes £2.7 million for the external evaluation of the pilots. This will ensure we have a robust evidence base for the effectiveness of the approach.

There are currently no plans to develop a trial and evaluation of Housing First specifically for under-25s. However, we are committed to preventing youth homelessness and ensuring that young people get the support they need. That is why we announced in our Rough Sleeping Strategy that we are launching a new Social Impact Bond (SIB) targeted at young people who are at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping.

The Young Futures Fund will be aimed at young people aged 18-24 who are homeless and not in education, employment and training, with the ultimate goal of improving their life outcomes by offering them the tailored wrap around support that they need. It will build on the successes of the Fair Chance Fund which supported over 1,900 homeless young people to improve accommodation, employment and education outcomes. We will take the learning from the Fair Chance Fund to inform our approach.