Written evidence submitted by Greater Change [CTA 016]

About Greater Change

Greater Change was founded in 2018, inspired by the success of cash transfers in low-income countries and the stories of homelessness service users in Oxford, who were often blocked from moving out of homelessness at the final hurdle. Working with service users and support providers, a huge number all highlight the same issue:

‍Impossible financial barriers are preventing individuals from making lasting steps out of homelessness.

Greater Change’s approach is centred on a variant of cash transfers called personalised budgets. With personalised budgets, instead of a direct unconditional transfer of cash, clients state their immediate financial needs and Greater Change pay the required amount to nominated third parties. This way, grants go directly to an individual’s specific financial goal, as part of a long-term support plan.

With Greater Change, grants go directly to an individual’s specific financial goal, as part of a long-term support plan. Our mission is shaped by those who have experienced homelessness—we listen, don’t assume, and support people based on their own aspirations and needs. We believe a Greater Change is made when you respect the aspirations, autonomy and determination of individuals.

As of the end of 2024, Greater Change has supported over 1,000 people out of homelessness in Greater London, Oxfordshire, Leicester, Crawley, Southend-on-Sea, Colchester, Chelmsford and Durham.

Summary of key points:

• Greater Change’s personalised budget programme is a dignified and cost-effective approach that provides individuals cash grants to meet their most urgent and immediate needs to prevent them from becoming homeless, or support them out of homelessness.
• The financial burden of temporary accommodation on local authorities is spiralling out of control, costing billions to the public purse each year. At the same time, unsafe and unsuitable temporary housing is exacerbating the mental and physical health challenges of homeless people, placing them in potentially dangerous living situations and keeping them in a cycle of homelessness and poverty.
• Greater Change’s approach has supported over 1,000 individuals to take large steps out of homelessness; a large proportion of whom the charity has specifically supported out of temporary accommodation. Over 90% of Greater Change’s clients are now in permanent accommodation.
• The average cost per person supported by Greater Change’s personalised budget programme is just £1,319. This approach could unlock total potential cost savings to the public purse of up to £33,858 per homeless person.
• Greater Change is calling for an increased focused on long-term, preventative interventions that help people take steps out of homelessness; personalised budgets should be integrated into an evidence-driven strategy to end homelessness across the country.

The scale of the temporary accommodation issue

Today, the majority of those experiencing homelessness in the UK live in temporary accommodation. Since 2010, the demand for temporary accommodation has more than doubled, from around 50,000 households in 2010 to 117,540 households in March 2024[1]. Decreased housing stock means local authorities are having to use B&Bs, hotels and other nightly-paid privately managed accommodation for temporary housing; options which are not only unsuitable and often unsafe, but are also far more expensive.

The financial burden this is having on local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales is well documented. Collectively, local authorities spent £2.29 billion on temporary accommodation in FY 2023/24; an increase of 29% in spending from the £1.77 billion spent in FY 22/23[2]. This, despite the fact that the number of households in temporary accommodation increased by just 12.3%.

Greater Change has seen firsthand how this strain is impacting local economies. In the south east of England – Greater Change’s key operational region – the cost of temporary accommodation is around £50-£90 per person per night. This amounts to a spend of £18,250-£32,850 annually per person[3].

In our grassroots service delivery experience, we have seen not only the impact the current state of temporary accommodation is having on public finances, but also on public physical and mental health. Leigh was referred to Greater Change after being placed in temporary accommodation in Gloucestershire, over 50 miles away from his home and family in Oxfordshire. This experience of temporary accommodation exacerbated Leigh’s physical and mental health challenges, further isolating him from his support system.

There is a profound risk posed to women and families with children. Two of our former clients, Georgia and Khadija found themselves in unsuitable and unsafe temporary accommodation after leaving abusive relationships. Georgia spent months moving between temporary situations while pregnant, while Khadija spent over two years in temporary accommodation with a child under two. In both of their situations, they and their children often experienced subpar living conditions, from the quality of the housing to exposure to potentially dangerous situations among fellow tenants.

Greater Change sees from this a clear, urgent need to build more social housing, move people out of homelessness and prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place to slow the spiralling increase in temporary accommodation costs to local authorities.

Personalised cash grants as a solution to reducing the use of temporary accommodation

Every year, Greater Change supports hundreds of people out of temporary accommodation through our personalised budget programme. Our grassroots service delivery experience has shown us the vital need to reprioritise local authority spend on homelessness from short-term, cost inefficient measures such as housing individuals in temporary accommodation, to long-term, preventative interventions that help people take steps out of homelessness.

Greater Change’s view is that as long as homeless people lack the means to pay for the upfront costs of moving into permanent housing, hundreds of thousands of households will remain stuck in temporary accommodation.

We are calling for the government to integrate personalised budgets into an evidence-driven strategy to end homelessness across the country. The simple policy measure could be introduced by making it a statutory requirement for local authorities to provide personalised budgets and combining this with a corresponding budget, allocated centrally, to fund the programme.

The impact of the personalised cash grant approach

To date, we have helped over 1,000 individuals take large steps out of homelessness. We have seen the demonstrable sustained, long-term impact of supporting homeless people through the provision of personalised cash grants. Over the years, our approach has been effective in supporting a high proportion of our clients into permanent housing. The percentage of individuals who are in permanent housing one year on from receiving our support has varied, ranging between 70-86%.

In contrast to the spiralling costs of housing individuals and families in temporary accommodation, the average cost per person supported by Greater Change is just £1,319. Given that each person experiencing homelessness costs the public on average £35,117 per year, Greater Change’s approach can unlock total potential cost savings to the public purse of up to £33,858 per person[4].

We are also encouraged by case studies of our former clients. With Greater Change’s support, Leigh was able to raise the funds for a rental deposit which allowed him to find permanent housing back in West Oxford and get his life back on track.

Likewise, once referred to Greater Change, both Georgia and Khadija received personalised cash grants to support them in furnishing their new, permanent homes.

How Greater Change helps: the process of personalised cash grant provision

Many people experiencing homelessness lack financial support and resources to escape their situation.

We believe the people we support know best what they need to escape homelessness for good. Our personalised budget programme puts the client in control, allowing them to choose what they need with our support.

Partner charities refer to us clients who will benefit from a small financial boost with a transformative impact. We reject fewer than 5% of cases.

The client leads the process, while we ensure the funding creates lasting change. Our model complements local homelessness services, not duplicates them.

The funding is transferred to the partner charity to purchase what was agreed.

6 - 12 months later, we follow up with the client and their support worker to measure impact across key metrics (such as housing stability, employment, and substance misuse).

There’s no pre-set list of what we will or won’t fund, and no minimum or maximum funding amount for each case. Common grants might include rent deposits, transportation, work-related tools, essential household items, and medical care.

The planning process is client-led, allowing for detailed, flexible support without unnecessary bureaucracy. Most importantly, this process helps people out of homelessness in a dignified and cost-effective manner.

Conclusion

Without providing those experiencing homelessness with a real pathway out of temporary accommodation, the homelessness crisis will only get worse. As long as homeless people lack the means to pay for the upfront costs of moving into permanent housing, hundreds of thousands of households will remain stuck in temporary accommodation. Families will remain trapped, services will continue to be overwhelmed and more local authorities will be forced to declare bankruptcy.

Combined with Labour’s ambitious strategy to build 1.5 million new homes and long-overdue renters rights reforms such as ending no fault evictions, personalised budgets have the potential to make significant strides towards tackling the temporary accommodation crisis in the UK. By breaking down insurmountable financial barriers, the government could give hundreds of thousands of households stuck in temporary accommodation a real pathway out of homelessness.

Appendix: Further evidence on the personalised cash grant approach

We’ve also examined effectiveness through a randomised control trial delivered in partnership with Harvard Kennedy School of Government and homelessness charity Turning Tides which has produced promising results. The trial compared outcomes for individuals who have received its services to those who have not, providing an accurate estimate on the casual impact of Greater Change on alleviating or preventing homelessness: “The treatment group appears to be less likely to be living in either a shelter or rough- sleeping situation, and they are more likely to be dwelling in a home. Taken together, this suggests that Greater Change services are moving individuals not only off of the streets, but also into more stable housing situations”. [5] While not a controlled trial, this rigorous outcomes data is well supported by the qualitative information we have amassed.

Furthermore, we are currently participating in in a full scale RCT with King’s College London, the Chartered Institute of Housing and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to further investigate outcomes of our approach. We expect the results of this RCT to be available in 12-16 months’ time.

The transformative power of cash transfers, or “direct giving”, has been particularly evidenced in their successful use by international development agencies for many years. A 2013 study of an unconditional cash transfer programme administered by non-profit GiveDirectly found that giving people cash led to dramatic increases in sustained income, assets, psychological wellbeing, food consumption and female empowerment among the extremely poor[6]. In this example, the average amount that people received was US$513. This study showed that providing cash – without conditions attached – can have a significant impact on the lives of people living in poverty. Reviewing a number of studies in 2016, the Overseas Development Institute concluded that: “There is strong evidence that cash transfers are associated with reductions in monetary poverty.”[7]

In August 2023, the Canadian charity Foundations for Social Change published a peer-reviewed study in partnership with the University of British Columbia. The project identified 50 people in the Vancouver area who had become homeless in the preceding two years, and gave each a one-off payment of $7,500. For a year, researchers checked in with recipients to see what they were spending the money on and what was happening in their lives. Their outcomes were compared to a control group of 65 homeless people who didn’t get any cash. Both groups attended coaching on developing life skills and plans. The results were stark: those who had received the lump sum moved into stable housing faster and were able to maintain financial security. They increased their spending on rent, food and clothing, not—as stereotypes might suggest—on “temptation goods” like alcohol, drugs and cigarettes. [8]

January 2025