In January, the housing minister made an announcement with divisive calls to put people born in the UK first on the list. Beneath the headline lurked a consultation document which sent a wave of concern through services supporting vulnerable young people.
The government wants every local authority in England to enforce rigid new tests before housing people. If this happens, it will be much harder for young people with experiences of homelessness to find somewhere safe and sustainable to live, putting further pressure on local authorities already buckling under immense financial problems.
Back in 2011, the coalition government said it was handing power back to local people to run neighbourhoods their own way. While the success of the Localism Act is far from proven these new proposals throw away that ambition, replacing it with a top down, one size fits all approach which will be particularly damaging to homeless young people.
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