Speeches by Ali.

“Good morning, Chair. To the Committee, I want to start with saying how delighted I am to be here in front of this Committee and at the fact that this Committee is looking at homelessness and rough sleeping, which I know is a subject close to all our hearts, given the challenges we face. For me, since I joined the team …”

“I am Rushanara Ali, Minister for Homelessness and Democracy.”

“Just to reassure you, where we have seen an issue such as care leavers, for instance, where intentionality has been used in a detrimental way, the state, as a corporate parent, has a duty of care to them. We have worked with the Department for Education and supported it on that amendment. That is a good example of wher…”

“They have particular duties that they need to abide by. Are you referring to stringent or overzealous cases?”

“Intentional homelessness, did you say?”

“You are alluding to the challenge some authorities are facing. London Councils has contacted me and I will be meeting with the chair and deputy chair of London Councils, Councillor Holland and Councillor Williams. It is really crucial that we do both. We have to focus on prevention. It picks up on the wider points we m…”

“We published the evaluation of the Changing Futures pilot before Christmas and the results were really encouraging. One of the examples, which I often share, is of someone who has received support from different agencies over a period of, I think, 13 to 15 years, thousands of interventions, costing something in the ord…”

“As I mentioned at the beginning, we started to work immediately, straight after the election, with the Home Office to provide some transition time once status is determined. If people have refugee status, there is the spectre of this short period of time. That has been extended. That is really important, in order to he…”

“Yes. It should be published imminently.”

“I have had a meeting with my counterpart where homelessness and rough sleeping have been on the agenda, yes.”

“You are absolutely right. That is why the work we do nationally, the strategy and the work we are doing in the inter-ministerial taskforce is really key, in terms of having those relevant Departments and Ministers in the inter‑departmental group. On the funding side, there has been an investment from the Departm…”

“There is the Renters Reform Bill and the ending of section 21. We know from the evidence that it is well over 20,000 people who end up homeless because of that particular provision, which is going to be ended. Again, we are taking action to prevent particular policies having unintended consequences or adverse effects. …”

“The cost of private accommodation is much higher than social housing. The Deputy Prime Minister is determined to make sure that we have an increase in social and affordable housing as we focus our attention on the housebuilding programme. It goes back to the point about affordability and supply, as well as the Renters …”

“Greater Manchester, Liverpool and west midlands are the areas with the Housing First pilots. It is really valuable to have those pilots and to make sure that there is learning. On the winter pressures funding we did, the Department held a webinar with 1,000 attendees over a couple of sessions. There is a lot of interes…”

“Penny might want to come back to it, but I will just say that local authorities now have much more flexibility in terms of funding. We hope that they will be able to use that flexibility in a way they see fit, to pick up on your point.”

“The evaluation that was published in October found that the large majority of Housing First clients were in long-term accommodation a year after entering the programme and that tenancies were sustainable for 80% to 90%. That is really powerful evidence. I am really pleased about that. It shows that there is good value …”

“We have all heard stories like that. That is more from my experience as a constituency MP. We hear stories of local council officials, again, being stuck between a rock and a hard place. We want to make sure that there is staff support. For instance, in the way that funding is allocated, we have to provide flexibility …”

“Just to reassure you, where we have seen an issue such as care leavers, for instance, where intentionality has been used in a detrimental way, the state, as a corporate parent, has a duty of care to them. We have worked with the Department for Education and supported it on that amendment. That is a good example of wher…”

“They have particular duties that they need to abide by. Are you referring to stringent or overzealous cases?”

“Intentional homelessness, did you say?”