Written evidence submitted by Centrepoint

Impact of COVID-19 on the Charity Sector
Centrepoint Submission to the DCMS Select Committee Inquiry

About Centrepoint

Centrepoint is the leading national charity working with homeless young people aged 16 to 25. Established 50 years ago, we provide support and accommodation to help homeless young people and care leavers get their lives back on track. Centrepoint offers a range of high quality support, including:

●        Supported accommodation for homeless young people and care leavers in London, Manchester, Yorkshire and the North East.

●        A national helpline for young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

●        A health offer including psychotherapy, dietetics, substance use support, healthy relationships advice and mental health support.

●        A learning offer to support young people back into training and employment with a range of programmes, traineeships and apprenticeships.

●        An engagement team that blends practical, artistic and sports skills with important life skills to ensure young people have the confidence to live independently.
 

Centrepoint’s Role during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic poses unprecedented risks to all, but homeless young people and care leavers are particularly vulnerable. Centrepoint staff are working around the clock to keep them safe and healthy. In order to do so we are maintaining high standards of infection prevention and control in our supported accommodation; ensuring residents are aware of the need to follow social distancing guidance; and providing for their emotional wellbeing needs during the lockdown.

Centrepoint is commissioned by local authorities to provide supported accommodation, however we also rely heavily on charitable donations and support from volunteers. During the COVID-19 pandemic our fundraised income has dropped, meanwhile our operational costs have spiked, including temporary staff, personal protection equipment and cleaning products.

The Government must provide adequate support to ensure homelessness accommodation providers like Centrepoint can continue to provide a safe haven for homeless young people during the pandemic.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Youth Homelessness

In 2018-19, an estimated 110,000 young people aged 16-24 faced homelessness in the UK.[1] COVID-19 has only served to exacerbate youth homelessness by putting extreme pressure on families, local authority housing services and charities like Centrepoint. Some of the problems affecting homeless young people specifically are:

●        Family and relationship breakdown: Two thirds of young people living at Centrepoint have been forced to leave home due to relationship breakdown. During the COVID-19 outbreak, calls to our helpline indicate that isolation measures are further contributing to family breakdown. The strain of household confinement - often in overcrowded accommodation - is causing arguments, which result in young people being kicked out.
 

●        Sofa surfing: Three quarters of homeless young people have sofa surfed[2]; forced to live out of the bags on their back and unsure of where they will next find shelter. Due to social distancing, homeless young people that have no fixed address and are reliant on others for accommodation are running out of options, as the Government advises against coming into contact with people from outside your own household.
 

●        Loss of employment: The lockdown has hit young workers the hardest, particularly those living in supported accommodation. Employees under 25 are two and a half times as likely to work in a sector that is now shut down, compared to other employees.[3] While some young employees may have parents they can fall back on for financial support and accommodation, this is rarely an option for homeless young people.

Recommendations to address the impact on Centrepoint’s services for homeless young people;

Support from the Government is urgently needed to ensure that homelessness charities are able to continue providing bedspaces during the COVID-19 pandemic. The key policy changes we need in order to protect people living in supported accommodation are as follows:

1. A ring-fenced emergency fund for homelessness accommodation providers faced with reduced charitable donations and lost income from housing benefit.

1.1.            Homelessness accommodation providers like Centrepoint receive limited statutory funding and as a result, are highly reliant on charitable donations. During the COVID-19 pandemic our fundraised income has dropped, meanwhile our operational costs have spiked, including temporary staff, personal protection equipment and additional cleaning products.
 

1.2.            Three quarters of residents at Centrepoint rely on housing benefit to cover the cost of their supported accommodation. However during the COVID-19 pandemic residents may need to move accommodation in order to effectively self-isolate. This poses a serious financial problem as housing benefit income is needed to maintain bedspaces.

To help reduce this financial risk during the COVID-19 outbreak, we suggest three-month bloc-payments of housing benefit in advance, with built-in safeguards to protect against future overpayment deductions.
 

2. Personal Protection Equipment urgently delivered to homelessness accommodation providers, along with thermometers and access to testing kits.
    

2.1.            In order to limit further spread of COVID-19 to residents and staff, we ask that homelessness accommodation providers are added as a priority to the supply chain for Personal Protection Equipment.
 

2.2.            We recognise the demand for testing kits is high, but without the ability to identify who has contracted COVID-19, it will be impossible to effectively isolate vulnerable residents in shared accommodation facilities with up to 80 bedspaces.
 

3. Access to emergency self-contained accommodation to allow residents in supported accommodation testing positive or displaying symptoms of COVID-19 to self-isolate.
    

3.1.            Infectious diseases can spread rapidly in supported accommodation, putting vulnerable people at major risk. Local authorities should identify and make available furnished properties such as social housing voids, hotels, and empty private properties where necessary.
 

3.2.            This requires a commitment from the Government to go beyond the £3.2m already earmarked to help local authorities to help rough sleepers self-isolate. Additional support is needed to ensure the safety of homeless people living in supported accommodation.
 

4. Local authority housing services must remain open and able to provide urgent advice to homeless people.
    

4.1.            Centrepoint’s Helpline has received calls from local authority areas where councils are refusing to house people during the outbreak, or leaving the phone unanswered for days on end. It is unacceptable that some local authority housing offices are limiting their service, leaving those who are homeless or at risk without the immediate support they are legally entitled to.
 

4.2.            MHCLG must support local authorities to redeploy staff in order to ensure that no call for help with homelessness goes unanswered during the pandemic. While local authority housing services have moved online, libraries providing free access to internet have closed.
 

Recommendations to address wider problems young people are experiencing when faced with homelessness

5. Increase welfare support for homeless young people.
    

5.1.            Homeless young people receive a reduced level of welfare support simply because of their age. The Universal Credit standard allowance for under-25s is £70 less per month than the allowance for older claimants. Young people living in supported accommodation should receive the higher allowance to help cover basic living costs.
 

5.2.            Under-25s receive the lowest Local Housing Allowance rate which leaves them unable to cover the real cost of rent. The Government has committed to raising the rate for homeless young people, but not until 2023. Given the circumstances, this policy should be brought forward immediately.
 

6. End the burden of debt repayment for Universal Credit claimants.
    

6.1.            While an advance payment of one month’s Universal Credit is available to claimants, it must be repaid in full. In order to prevent driving homeless young people into debt, we ask that this advance is made non-repayable.
 

6.2.            If a claimant has received a sanction, has debts with utility companies or has been overpaid Universal Credit in the past, money is automatically deducted from their claim. During the COVID-19 outbreak, we ask that all sanctions and deductions are paused, as welfare support is a lifeline at this time.