Our Response to Andy Burnham's First Leader's Speech

“With a good home, everything is possible. Without one, it can feel like nothing is.”

Speaking yesterday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke powerfully to what we see every day: a home is more than a roof, it is the foundation for safety, stability and hope.

We welcome the renewed commitment to tackling the housing and homelessness crises, and the recognition that everyone should have a safe, secure and affordable place to call home.

There is much to be positive about: the ambition for the biggest programme of council housebuilding since the post-war era; plans to use unused public land for affordable homes; reform of Right to Buy so that new council homes are protected; and giving councils stronger powers and resources to bring empty and persistently poor-quality homes back into use. We particularly welcome the emphasis on empowering local places, tackling rogue landlords and the harm that unsafe housing does to people’s health and life chances.

We welcome the commitment to make “Everyone In” a permanent national approach and help everyone sleeping rough in England move off the streets this winter. The £442 million Rough Sleeping Programme is an important first step, combining rapid access to accommodation with settled homes and wraparound support.

No one should be left to sleep on the streets, and the combination of immediate accommodation with longer-term housing and support is the right principle. But ending rough sleeping cannot be the only measure of success. Homelessness also affects families raising children in temporary accommodation, B&Bs or overcrowded and unsuitable housing; people sofa surfing, sleeping in cars or caravans, or leaving hospital or prison with nowhere safe to go; and people staying in hostels, shelters and refuges. It is often hidden and overlooked, particularly for women and for people in rural communities, but the uncertainty, fear and disruption it causes are no less real.

Building more genuinely affordable homes is essential, but handing someone the keys should be the beginning of the journey, not the end of the support. Lasting change also requires early intervention, financial stability, help to build practical skills, and flexible, trauma-informed support that strengthens wellbeing and community connections. People should have the security and support not only to sustain a home, but to settle, recover and thrive. We therefore want to see this positive start matched by clear milestones, long-term funding and transparent accountability, alongside action to prevent homelessness and reduce the growing number of people in temporary and unsuitable accommodation. Policy must be shaped with people who have experienced homelessness and delivered through properly resourced partnerships with councils, housing providers, charities and communities.

We feel genuinely Hopeful about this renewed ambition and the difference it could make to people’s lives.

The direction is welcome, and we want to work constructively with government and partners to help ensure it becomes sustained delivery in every community and reaches people experiencing all forms of homelessness.

Hopestead is ready to listen, collaborate and play our part in turning these commitments into practical, lasting change. Because no one should experience the trauma of homelessness; and everyone deserves not just a roof, but a safe place to call home and chance to thrive.