More than three quarters of the 37,000 homeless people housed under the ‘Everyone In’ initiative have not moved into settled accommodation

New analysis from Shelter also shows that one in four of those initially housed under the scheme are no longer accommodated

More than three quarters of the 37,000 homeless people housed in England during the Covid-19 ‘Everyone In' initiative have not moved into settled accommodation, according to a new report from Shelter.

In Everyone In: Where are they now?, published today, Shelter details findings from responses to Freedom of Information requests sent to every local authority in England to get more information about where the people that had been in emergency accommodation as part of Everyone In (or the subsequent Protect Programme in autumn/winter 2020/2021) are now.

Key findings include that -

• one in four (23 per cent) people had moved into settled accommodation of at least six months (an estimated 8,600 of the 37,000 people the government states have been helped by Everyone In during the pandemic) leaving around 29,000 (77 per cent) still without settled accommodation;
• a similar number of people (8,800) were no longer accommodated, either having left accommodation without move on accommodation or with no destination recorded; and
• one in five (8,300) of all those who had been accommodated under Everyone In were still in emergency accommodation including hotels, hostels and B&Bs.

In addition, Shelter highlights that significant barriers remain to obtaining move-on accommodation, noting that a quarter of people accommodated under Everyone In or 'Protect' do not have legal rights to be helped into accommodation by councils - such as because they are subject to a No Recourse to Public Funds immigration condition.

Even when people are eligible for statutory homelessness assistance, Shelter warns that councils face additional barriers to finding affordable and appropriate accommodation - because of issues including inadequate levels of funding for housing support services, and housing costs restrictions under the benefit system including inadequate local housing allowance rates and the benefit cap.

As a result, the report calls for a 'roadmap' out of street homelessness, to build on the achievements of Everyone In, both during the ongoing pandemic and in the longer term -

'The government’s Everyone In approach proved that, with political will, adequate funding for accommodation and support, and local leadership in mobilising the sector, everyone at risk of the streets can quickly be offered the accommodation and support. Everyone In proved it can be done.

To protect lives, both during the on-going pandemic and beyond, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's strategy must learn lessons from Everyone In, including a thorough review of outcomes for those helped, and set out a roadmap to end rough sleeping.

We hope the research contained in this report will be useful evidence for this endeavour.'

For more information, see Everyone In: Where Are They Now? from shelter.org.uk