Islington Council's Homes and Communities Scrutiny Committee has reviewed the council's performance in tackling homelessness, focusing on homelessness prevention and temporary accommodation. The committee's findings, detailed in a comprehensive report, highlight both areas of strength and persistent challenges.
The committee's year-long scrutiny review into homelessness concluded that the issue is a system-made crisis
rather than an individual failing. While Islington has demonstrated strong performance in preventing homelessness and reducing the time residents spend in temporary accommodation compared to other London boroughs, the report stresses the significant impact of the national housing emergency.
Islington's strong performance in homelessness prevention is evidenced by the fact that it has prevented over 900 households from becoming homeless in a single year. Furthermore, while the borough has the second-highest number of homelessness assessments in London, it maintains a comparatively low rate of households in temporary accommodation, with an average stay of 10-11 months. This rate stands at 17 per 1,000 households, significantly lower than the London average of 21 per 1,000. Islington also has a lower proportion of households in temporary accommodation for longer durations (5+ years) compared to the rest of London. This focus on prevention and shorter stays in temporary accommodation contributes to financial efficiency, with Islington spending approximately 1% of its general fund on homelessness, compared to around 3% for many other London boroughs.
Key recommendations from the review include a call for a whole-system statutory duty to prevent homelessness, involving all public services, and a reform of the national homelessness framework to abolish the priority need framework and end local connection requirements for rough sleepers. The report also advocates for increased government funding to purchase 200 ex-Right to Buy homes annually and for council housebuilding to be treated as national infrastructure investment.
In terms of homelessness, the Quarterly Homelessness Performance Report indicated a rising number of households in temporary accommodation. Despite this, Islington has a comparatively low rate of households in temporary accommodation, with an average stay of 10-11 months. Domestic abuse and evictions from family and friends were identified as significant drivers of homelessness.
Beyond the national housing emergency, the report highlights several persistent challenges. Domestic abuse is significantly higher in Islington than in other parts of London. Evictions from family and friends are also a real concern and worry,
with this being the main reason for approach for many individuals. The report also notes that 66 households have been in temporary accommodation for five years or more, often due to complex needs such as severe autism, physical disabilities, or larger family sizes, where suitable accommodation is difficult to find. A lack of data regarding refugees and asylum seekers in homelessness figures is also a concern, with questions raised about the effectiveness of the extended move-on period for those leaving Home Office hotels. Additionally, rent arrears remain a pressure point due to the cost of living crisis.
Councillor Heather Staff questioned the lack of data on refugees and asylum seekers in homelessness figures, and Ian Swift, Director of Housing Operations, acknowledged the need for improvements in this area. Resident observer Cassandra Flavius inquired about preventing homelessness due to family or friends no longer being willing to accommodate, and the duration of stays in bed and breakfast accommodation. The meeting information indicates that Islington has no families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation for over six weeks. In Quarter 2 2025/26, there were only three households in bed and breakfast accommodation at the time of reporting, and none of these households had children. The council aims to rehouse individuals from hotels within 72 hours.
Regarding the national homelessness framework, the report advocates for its reform, specifically calling for the abolition of the priority need framework and the ending of local connection requirements for people sleeping rough. The argument is that the current framework may not adequately address all those experiencing homelessness and that ending local connection requirements is essential to stop the continuous increase in people sleeping rough across England. The overarching argument is that homelessness is a system-made crisis
and not an individual failure, and that all public services must play their part in preventing and ending homelessness through partnership working.
The implementation of a whole-system statutory duty to prevent homelessness
involving all public services would require clear legal responsibilities, shared outcomes, and robust accountability mechanisms. This implies a need for new frameworks to ensure all public services, including health, criminal justice, children's services, and adult social care, are held accountable. It would also necessitate improved coordination and integration of services to prevent people from falling through service gaps, particularly at key transition points such as hospital discharge, prison release, or moving from temporary accommodation. The report calls for sustained national investment and long-term funding settlements to support this integrated approach, emphasizing that preventing homelessness must be treated as a core public service responsibility, not a discretionary partnership activity. Effective implementation would likely require enhanced data sharing and integration across different public service systems.
Councillor Hannah McHugh, Chair of the committee, expressed pride in the committee's work, emphasizing that homelessness is a preventable crisis and that systems can be changed to address it.
