There is an ongoing controversy in the UK. One that has political parties picking sides. The brouhaha was created as a result of Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s claim that homelessness is a ‘lifestyle choice’. And because she considers pitching tents on the streets of Britain to be an active choice of the people, she reportedly has plans to uproot the excessive number of rough sleepers. The reason why her comment was translated as an insensitive comment (which it is) is because she did not follow her claim with a suggestion or a solution to address the issue. Therefore she is now the focal point of an ongoing backlash, even by her own party members.
The homelessness issue in the UK
The UK is currently in the midst of a housing crisis. It is a victim of a rising number of households in temporary accommodation. As of July 2023, the numbers reached its highest level since 1998. In the first quarter of 2023, nearly 105,000 households found themselves in temporary accommodation, marking a 10% increase from the previous year. A figure that represents an all-time high since record-keeping began 25 years ago. Local authorities in England are responsible for providing accommodation to households unintentionally rendered homeless. The data also revealed a 20% increase in the number of households classified as homeless and requiring accommodation as a priority in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. As mentioned in CNN, Homeless Charity Crisis, the National Housing Federation, and researchers at Heriot-Watt University estimate that 380,000 homes must be built each year across England, Scotland, and Wales to combat the ever-increasing demand. However, only 192,000 homes were constructed in the UK in the year 2022, according to the National House Building Council. In 2019, the UK government had set a target to build 1 million new homes over five years by January 2025. A goal that is clearly not reflected in the rapid increase in the number of people who are rough sleeping. Therefore, when you zoom out and look at the bigger picture, promises as such lack substance and sometimes appear to be made merely for political gain.
Data published by the government in February 2023 indicates that an estimated 3069 individuals were sleeping rough on a single night in England during the autumn of 2022. This marked a 26% rise from the previous year and a 74% surge from 2010 when the snapshot approach was first introduced. The only solace about the figures is that in comparison to data recorded in 2017, the 2022 numbers represented a decrease of 35%. The data also revealed that rough sleeping increased in every region of England compared to the previous year, with over half of the increase attributed to 15 areas, which make up only 5% of all areas. The largest increase occurred in London, where the number of people sleeping rough rose from 640 to 858. Nearly half (47%) of this number were found in London and the south-east. The demography mainly consisted of males aged over 26 who were permanent citizens of the UK. A snapshot for autumn 2023 is expected to be published in February 2024.
Braverman’s controversial comment
When all data is taken into consideration, it is evident that homelessness is not a lifestyle choice. A comment as such makes the problem at hand redundant by understating the gravity of it. The home secretary took to X to state that “The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless. But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice”. She further elaborated how unless or otherwise quick measures are not implemented, the UK will fall into the same category in which places like San Francisco and Los Angeles are a part of. She believes that nobody in Britain should face the fate of living in tents on the streets of Britain. According to her, she wants to eliminate the ones who create a “nuisance and distress to other people by pitching tents in public spaces, aggressively begging, stealing, taking drugs, littering, and blighting [the]communities”.
She also suggested a civil offence to discourage charities from giving tents to homeless people. Under these plans, charities could face fines for donating tents if they are deemed to have caused a disruption of any sort. It is said that the proposed legislation’s aim is to prevent the obstruction of shop doorways by rough sleepers using tents. Critics, including the Liberal Democrats, have voiced their disapproval of criminalising homeless charities for their efforts to provide shelter for individuals in peril, highlighting the fact that the need of the hour is a more compassionate and effective means to resolve the issue. And not bulldozer through the sliver of hope that homeless individuals are left with.
The criticism it received
The statement by the UK Home Secretary was met with absolute disdain and criticism from not just individuals with experience of homelessness but from multiple organisations. Her claim downplays the complex and varied reasons behind homelessness, such as falling behind on bills, losing jobs, or being unable to afford housing due to rising rents and evictions. Housing and homelessness charity Shelter made it clear that homelessness is a result of failed government policies, including the exorbitant prices of houses and inflating rates of living costs. Organisations such as Crisis, Centrepoint, St.Mungo’s, and Pathway, released a letter rejecting the notion that sleeping on the streets is a choice. They pointed out that people sleeping rough are often victims of violence, abuse and physical and mental health issues, with an average age of death at 45 for men and 43 for women. Braverman’s plan to demolish tent-pitching urban areas has ruffled quite a few feathers about further marginalising and endangering people who are already vulnerable.
(Sandunlekha Ekanayake)