- Six months since the launch of the Government-backed Homelessness Covenant, 160 businesses are poised to help prevent homelessness.
- The Covenant, launched in partnership with homelessness charity Crisis, aims to increase job opportunities for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
- Milestone reached as increases to Local Housing Allowance rates will see 1.6 million private renters on the lowest incomes gain an average of nearly £800 a year.
More than 160 businesses have registered their interest in joining the Government's drive to help prevent and end homelessness, starting in the workplace.
Employers across the country are being urged to sign up to the Government-backed Homelessness Covenant and support people at risk of or experiencing homelessness - including those 'sofa surfing' or in temporary accommodation - to stay in work through supportive employment policies.
Six months after the Covenant was launched in September 2023 by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and homelessness charity Crisis, leading businesses including Hays and Blue Arrow have joined Pret A Manger and Thames Water in signing up.
The Covenant encourages employers to provide the support needed for anyone to secure and maintain a job and reap the health and financial benefits that employment offers.
It includes a set of pledges employers can sign up to, including employment and training opportunities, fairer recruitment and helping to tackle homelessness in local communities through volunteering and fundraising.
Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Mims Davies MP said:
We know work is the best route out of poverty, which is why the Covenant with Crisis, alongside the government's wider £2.4billion investment to tackle homelessness, is so important.
I'm extremely proud of the progress we have made in the last six months and urge more businesses to join Hays, Pret and others by signing up to the Covenant and helping to prevent homelessness.
Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Felicity Buchan MP, said:
We need a collective effort to tackle homelessness and end rough sleeping for good and businesses can play a vital role in our mission. I encourage companies to sign up to the Covenant so they can support their employees who may be at risk of homelessness and provide job opportunities for those without the stability of a secure home.
Employers who sign up to the Covenant can build their understanding of homelessness, and learn how to recognise and support employees who may be at risk, through access to informative resources, best practice approaches, and online and in-person networking opportunities.
Crisis Chief Executive, Matt Downie said:
Work can be a powerful tool for ending homelessness and preventing it from happening in the first place. When work is decent, well-paid, and supported by inclusive employment practices and flexible policies, it can be a pathway to stability and security.
It's been really positive to see the response to the Homelessness Covenant since it launched last year, with businesses from a range of sectors demonstrating a real desire to address the issue.
Crisis is committed to continuing to advise and support employers, helping them to put the policies and practices in place to build truly inclusive workplaces.
Crisis will publish a best practice guide later this month to provide further support to employers. The guide will showcase examples of how organisations, regardless of scale or sector, can foster supportive work environments that help prevent and end homelessness.
UK and Ireland managing director at Pret A Manger, Clare Clough said:
We're proud to join the Homelessness Covenant in partnership with Crisis. Since 2008, we've supported over 750 people experiencing or at risk of homelessness into the Pret team through The Pret Foundation's Rising Stars employment programme.
Over the next five years, we're committed to supporting 500 more people facing homelessness into work, and welcome sharing our successes and resources with other organisations in the Covenant to help prevent homelessness for good.
To prevent rough sleeping and ensure people at risk can start or stay in work, the Government has pledged over £1.2 billion for the Homelessness Prevention Grant, while increases to Local Housing Allowance rates in April will see 1.6 million private renters on benefits gain an average of nearly £800 a year.
The Government also continues to provide support for people when it has not been possible to prevent homelessness, giving councils across England over £547 million via the Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25 and pledging £10 million in funding targeted at areas with the highest rough sleeping pressures.
Additional information
- Businesses can find out more about the Homelessness Covenant, best practice guide, and how to sign up online.
- From April 2024 the Government will be investing £1.2 billion in restoring Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This is in addition to the boost of nearly £1bn per year in LHA which has been maintained since 2020.
- Since 2011, the Government has provided nearly £1.7bn in Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) funding to local authorities.
- DLUHC's Rough Sleeping Initiative is investing over £547m in funding to local authorities across England from April 2022 to March 2025, including over 60 projects providing employment support.
