Today (11 December 2025) the Government has published its Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, A National Plan to End Homelessness.
The strategy recognises the need to tackle multiple disadvantage and commits £55.8m to a new multiple disadvantage programme that will build on the learning from Changing Futures and be delivered as a collaboration between government departments.
Further commitments relevant to multiple disadvantage in the 90-page document include:
- Ensuring that tackling homelessness is a shared responsibility, including the development of a new “duty to collaborate”.
- Reducing the number of people who leave public services as homeless – for example from prison, hospital or care.
- Halving the number of long-term rough sleepers, including a new £15m Long-Term Rough Sleeping Innovation Programme.
- Strengthening the way that Housing, Social Care and Safeguarding work together to prevent homelessness, including a review and update of the relevant areas of the Care Act 2014 Statutory Guidance.
- Investment in new models of mental health support and implementation of the Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Delivery Framework.
- Continuation of the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment programme.
- Ensuring that multiple disadvantage is a central part of the new Local Outcomes Framework, which will place requirements on local authorities around multiple disadvantage for the first time.
Coupled with other government commitments such as the Community Help Partnerships Programme, this focus on multiple disadvantage will support vital work, strategic development and learning across the country.
However, as implementation gets underway, there will also be a need for government to ensure that the actions and commitments it has proposed can move further and fast enough to meet its ambition of ending homelessness and rough sleeping.
Oliver Hilbery, Chief Executive of MEAM said:
“Homelessness and rough sleeping are not inevitable, and we must hold firm to the ambition that they can be ended for good. This will only be possible with coordinated, cross-sector support for people facing multiple disadvantage.
“We are pleased to see the focus given in the new strategy to multiple disadvantage and welcome both the £55.8m funding for local areas and the actions that government will take itself to improve how services and systems respond.
“There is significant learning from Changing Futures and the MEAM Approach network that can help inform the new programme. MEAM staff support local areas on a daily basis, and the vibrant MEAM Approach network provides vital peer support. We look forward to welcoming and engaging with areas who receive this new funding.”