Government pause in housing allowance cap welcome but rent reduction will hit charities hard, says Nacro

Nacro today raised concerns about the government’s announcement to plough ahead with rent reduction for supported housing providers.
The charity, which provides homes and support for vulnerable people across England, has warned that potential closure of services provided by charities would affect the most vulnerable. Care leavers and those who are homeless, as well as people with complicated problems such as addiction or mental ill health – who rely on this support to help keep them off the streets – will be hit the hardest.

Speaking today, Nacro’s CEO Jacob Tas, said:

“We welcome the government’s pause to widespread introduction of the Local Housing Allowance cap, which would have hit all supported housing. However, the decision to counterbalance this with a rent reduction for supported housing, small as it may sound, will have a severe impact on charities like Nacro that do not have the capacity to mitigate this loss of income.

“The type of 24/7 support we provide in our housing projects for people who have complex needs and vulnerabilities will become increasingly unviable.

“This means that we face the heartbreaking decision to close some of our services in a time of urgent need. Charities like Nacro provide an essential frontline service across our communities. The support we provide helps people to get back on track, manage problems, secure work and start to build the skills and confidence needed to live independently. Young people with high support needs will be particularly hit by this change.

“We fully understand this has been a difficult decision for government but we ask them to reconsider what this will mean for charities who help to protect the most vulnerable. We do not believe that the impact on smaller providers and charities has been fully appreciated. Costs have already been driven down to a minimum while maintaining quality of service and improving outcomes. We therefore ask the government to work with us to secure the future of essential frontline housing for all vulnerable people.”