This report looks at trends in spending on homelessness prevention programs in the United Kingdom, assesses the barriers to these and makes recommendations for how these can be overcome. 

Homelessness is an issue that blights the lives of many people, including families and children. A cost of living crisis, on top of a decades-long housing crisis, has left hundreds of thousands without adequate or safe, settled accommodation. This severely affects their quality of life now and prospects for the future, while resulting in a growing financial burden on the local authorities and public services on whom many of these people rely.

The dedicated efforts of the homelessness sector are commendable, but evidence suggests they alone cannot provide the long-term, systemic solutions required. This is where wider government action is required with a shared duty across all public services, from education and health care to social care and employment support.

There is a fundamental need to switch the balance in resource allocation away from acute interventions and towards more upstream prevention efforts that, over time, will deliver better value for money.

While the long-term cost-effectiveness of preventative measures is intuitively compelling, robust, causal evidence directly comparing it to reactive spending remains limited. 

This report draws insights from international examples and smaller-scale research providing case studies for three types of homelessness prevention interventions: primary prevention, secondary prevention and tertiary prevention. It includes a case study in Geelong, Victoria.