Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle health inequalities experienced by people affected by homelessness.

The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the structural inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups, including those experiencing homelessness. We are working with integrated care systems, local authorities, and directors of public health to embed regional and local solutions to reducing inequalities, ensuring communities have the power and resources to improve health outcomes.

NICE guideline 214, Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness, sets out clear expectations for services to be accessible and tailored to individual needs. This guideline is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214/chapter/Recommendations#intermediate-care

We are exploring how best to encourage integrated care boards to adopt and embed this guidance within their commissioning processes.