How councils and their partners can shift from reactive crisis management to long-term homelessness prevention is a key question for local government.
The issue was discussed at a session on ‘From crisis to prevention: delivering the Government’s ambition to end homelessness’, at the LGA’s annual conference in Bournemouth.
Chaired by Cllr Carl Cashman, Vice-Chair of the LGA’s Inclusive Growth Committee, a panel of speakers – including Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor of London for Housing and Residential Development, Cllr Anthony Okereke, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and Ben Tomlin, Head of Strategic Housing and Partnerships, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council – stressed that while local approaches are making a difference, councils need sustained national support, long-term funding and stronger partnerships to move from responding to homelessness to preventing it.
The audience heard that councils face unprecedented financial pressures, with spending on temporary accommodation rising while record numbers of households live in temporary accommodation. The increasing cost of emergency housing is also limiting councils’ ability to invest in preventative services and wider homelessness support.
The LGA’s recently released homelessness position paper, calling on the Government to close the temporary accommodation subsidy gap as part of a programme to end homelessness, was highlighted as a gold standard approach to responding to homelessness challenges.
Panellists shared examples of successful local approaches, including bringing empty homes back into use, making greater use of direct offers, strengthening relationships with private landlords, purchasing homes for long-term accommodation, and using data to identify households at risk of homelessness earlier.
The importance of designing services around people’s lived experience was also highlighted. Practical support – such as access to Wi-Fi, employment advice, food provision and household essentials – can play an important role in helping people move out of temporary accommodation and rebuild their lives.
- See the LGA’s ‘Homelessness and rough sleeping strategy position statement 2026’.