A PETITION backed by celebrities including Kano, Wretch32, Adrian Lester, Paloma Faith, Primal Scream, Hot Chip, Rory Bremner and Jon Snow – and influential figures such as Sian Berry, Alastair Campbell, Rory Stewart and London Mayoral Candidate Natalie Campbell – has surpassed its initial target of 10,000 signatures.

But after waiting almost four weeks for a Government response – during which approximately 10,000 young people have reached out to their council for support –- experts in the youth homelessness sectors say the reply misses the mark.

The Government’s response states the following:

The Government’s Ending Rough Sleeping for Good strategy, published in 2022 and backed by over £2 billion, recognises the particular challenges facing young people experiencing homelessness.

The strategy puts prevention at its heart. The Government has committed over £1 billion to councils in England through the Homelessness Prevention Grant to help them prevent homelessness over three years, including youth homelessness. Councils can use the funding flexibly – for example, to offer financial support for people to find a new home, to work with landlords to prevent evictions or to provide temporary accommodation.

In addition, in his Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced Government is increasing the Local Housing Allowance to the 30th percentile of market rents from April. This will mean 1.6m low-income households will be around £800 a year better off on average in 2024-25, and will make it more affordable for young people on benefits to rent properties in the private rented sector.

However, with these issues having been tabled and passed unanimously just three weeks ago at a London Assembly meeting at City Hall, it is clear that further action is still required.

Homelessness is a direct outcome of the systems that are meant to protect us all failing. But young people are often not part of the conversations when we talk about homelessness, despite making up a significant number of those in crisis. Young people are often invisible to authorities and services, more likely to be ‘hidden homeless,’ sleeping on a friend’s sofa or alternating between different short-term, unsuitable accommodation.

According to recent Centrepoint research the number of young people approaching their council as homeless or about to become homeless has risen to 135,800 for 2022-23. This equates to 372 per day, and a new young person facing the harm of homelessness every four minutes. Of those, 20,200 were in London: that’s enough to fill every seat on a double decker bus every day. Centrepoint’s research also found that 35% of these young people weren’t assessed at all when they approached their local authority for help. Many are told to go home, even though this may not be a safe option.

In reaction to the inadequate response shared by the Government, a spokesperson for the collective of 136 youth homelessness charities campaigning for a #PlanForThe136k comments:

“With youth homelessness at an all-time high, the organisations behind the #PlanForThe136k coalition welcome the Government’s commitment to ending homelessness in all its forms but their response misses the urgency of the matter and it misses the point. In the 27 days we waited for a response, more than 10,000 young people may have approached their council as homeless in line with the latest youth homelessness figures.

Time and time again, experience has told us that if housing and homelessness strategies do not design in young people from the outset then they effectively exclude them. That is why the £2 billion investment from the Government into tackling homelessness has failed to stop significant increases in levels of both rough sleeping and homelessness and why it has done very little to protect young people specifically from homelessness. Indeed, the numbers of young people facing homelessness have risen more than 12% since the last general election.

Indeed, it is telling that of £2 billion invested, the only funding that we can say for certain has been spent on young people is £2.5million through the Rough Sleeping Initiative and £3 million for those leaving care. This represents just 0.25% of the total investment into tackling homelessness despite 18-24 year olds making up 18% of those who approach councils for help.

Because young people are not deemed priority need under our homelessness laws, they will, by definition, be deprioritised and it is why the £1 billion passed to Councils under the Homeless Prevention Grant will often not benefit them. It is clear many councils are simply overwhelmed with the number of people facing homelessness and, with limited resources, are choosing to support those for whom there is a statutory requirement to do so. We do not blame councils for this but as a result the country’s most vulnerable young people find themselves at the sharp end of a system failure that starts with a lack of government planning and resources.

And it was for this exact reason we have been calling for a national, young people focussed, strategy to end youth homelessness. Until we start to see young people as a specific group, who experience homelessness differently and who need different solutions we will never progress, no matter how much money is allocated.

LHA – or Local Housing Allowance, the amount of housing benefit someone can claim – is a prime example of this. Although we welcome the recent uprating of this, the reality is that for many young people the private rented sector remains unaffordable as those under 25 are subject to lower wages and can claim 26% less Universal Credit despite rent and bills costing the same as any adult. It is no surprise that research by Centrepoint shows that many young people are left with just £5 a month after rent and bills each month. The housing crisis is forcing young people to choose between heating and eating.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. Like the Government, we agree that every young person deserves a roof over their head and a safe place to call home. But to get there requires a bold, youth-specific response that is based on the experiences of young people and evidence from the sector. Such a strategy and approach would have an immediate impact and directly transform the lives and futures of the most vulnerable young people. Such a strategy would begin to address the age-related discrimination, lack of appropriate / affordable housing,reduce other forms of discrimination and risk of exploitation. Such a strategy would ensure there is a #PlanForThe136k and we will keep fighting until we get it”.

Join us to campaign for a #PlanForThe136k by signing the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/642986. The petition has already been supported by the likes of Centrepoint, YMCA England & Wales, UK Youth and Depaul UK. We need 100,000 signatures to be considered for debate in Parliament and get this crucial issue on the political agenda.