Homeless young people ‘left to sleep rough’ after councils failed to assess their needs

Councils in England are failing to provide assessments for over a third of young people facing homelessness, with many forced to sleep rough as a result, a youth homelessness charity has found.

Centrepoint reported that of the 107,585 young people aged 16 to 24 who were facing homelessness in the last year, only 65% were assessed by their council for support, meaning more than a third (35%) did not receive the assessment they are entitled to.

The research by Centrepoint also found that councils’ assessment rates are continuing to fall, despite the fact that the number of young people facing homelessness and looking for support from their council has increased.

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“Too many young people find themselves denied assessments which they may need to access housing and homelessness support,” Lisa Doyle, Centrepoint’s head of policy and public affairs, said. “Regardless of the systemic reasons behind this – it can be unlawful, and the inevitable outcome is that young people are not getting the support they need.”

She added that every week the Centrepoint helpline receives calls from young people who have been turned away from their local authority without an assessment, and that many of them “have been forced to sleep rough as a result”.

Doyle also said a significant proportion of youngsters should be classed as in priority need and, therefore, entitled to support”.

The area with the worst rates of young people going without homelessness assessments in England was the South West, with research finding councils in this area were failing to assess over half of the young people presenting to them.

The area with the highest increase in the number of people facing homelessness last year was the North West, with the area’s councils assessing less than half of the young people approaching them for support due to facing homelessness.

“Some of this is happening because councils simply lack the funds to follow up an assessment with support – but it’s clear there’s routine rationing of this support that goes beyond binary questions about funding,” said Doyle.

“Councils should be doing better, and we urge the government to conduct a review to find out why so many young people are being turned away. The National Plan to End Homelessness, with its emphasis on prevention and the announcement of new funding, is a good start, as is the commitment to update the homelessness code of guidance.”

Centrepoint additionally looked at how much funding councils would have needed to assess and support homeless young people in 2024-25 and found that it would have cost £325 million.

The research follows reports that many councils are on the verge of bankruptcy due to the costs of providing temporary accommodation, with figures finding the cost of housing households in temporary accommodation ballooned to £2.8 billion in 2024.

Experts explained that providing households with temporary accommodation – 132,410 homeless households live in temporary homes – saw council spending soar and is a “sticking plaster” solution when it comes to the homelessness crisis.

Doyle said: “We need to see some real urgency here: the more young people found ineligible for support, and the fewer cases resolved at earlier stages, the more young people reach the crisis point where intervention is more expensive – and personal cost becomes significant.”

In response to Centrepoint’s research, a Local Government Association spokesperson said: “Councils are committed to their duties to young people, and working with households with children to best support them, to best prevent homelessness and help those who are homeless out of it.

“This remains hugely challenging, due to demand for temporary accommodation and a shortage of homes.”

They added that councils need “the powers and resources to build or acquire genuinely affordable homes” to address the issue.

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