Our letter to the new prime minister
Do you know someone who would enjoy this article?
We’ve recently written to the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, to share the experiences of people we support through our services and some of the issues that matter to local people.
As he establishes his priorities and gets to work, we’ve taken the opportunity to highlight some of the key changes we’re calling for that could transform local people’s lives.
Every day, our teams work alongside people experiencing poverty, homelessness and disadvantage across Greater Manchester and Lancashire. We regularly talk to them about what matters most to them, the challenges they face, and the changes needed to help them transform their lives.
In our letter, we welcomed the Government’s commitments to end rough sleeping and address the cost-of-living crisis. We know from our work how urgent it is that action is taken, and we highlighted to the prime minister the reality of what people are experiencing today.
This includes local headteachers reporting staggering increases in child poverty, seen in children coming into school hungry, without clean uniforms and exhausted from sharing beds or being moved into temporary accommodation after becoming homeless.
We also shared with the prime minister how people we support who are rough sleeping have told us of the constant fear they experience, unable to find anywhere safe to sleep, while many other people are living in insecure accommodation for long periods with little certainty about what comes next.
We highlighted the difficult experiences of the people we meet who are rough sleeping after being granted refugee status. Desperate to rebuild their lives and integrate into local communities, many people find themselves at crisis point without a safe place to sleep.
These experiences shape the changes we call for. In the letter to Andy Burnham, we highlighted five priorities that would make a significant difference to people experiencing poverty, homelessness and disadvantage:
- A significant increase in the supply of social-rented housing and homes that are genuinely affordable.
- An end to the benefit cap.
- Free school meals for all primary-aged children.
- Local Housing Allowance rates to be unfrozen and uplifted in line with local rents.
- A 56-day move-on period from asylum support and accommodation, in line with the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
While the challenges facing people are complex, we know they’re not inevitable. With sustained national leadership, proper investment and policy decisions rooted in the experiences of people most affected, we believe real change is possible. We hope to see the Government commit to tangible and lasting action so that everyone has the chance to flourish.