Homelessness in the United Kingdom

After the Reformation, forms of support through early local government structures were provided by means of the poor law, which differed in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

For young people, there are additional factors that appear to be involved, most notably needing to face the responsibilities of independent living before they are ready for them.

[21] It was reported in The Guardian in 2018 that half of young people at risk of homelessness in the UK who approached their local authority, received no significant help.

In Wales, priority need was similarly extended to include individuals who are aged 18 to 20 and at risk of financial or sexual exploitation, but provided they are leaving care.

If the authority decides that a person does lack a home, but does not qualify as suffering statutory homelessness, then a lesser obligation applies.

If the applicant is in priority need, but is considered to have become homeless intentionally, the local authority is obliged to provide temporary accommodation for as long as is reasonably necessary for the applicant to find long-term accommodation; this is usually a fortnight, but additional periods of similar length can sometimes be provided at the council's discretion which are typically granted in cases of extenuating circumstances.

The service aims to respond within 24 hours, including an assessment of the individual circumstances and an offer of temporary accommodation for the following nights.

The response typically includes a visit to the rough sleeper early in the morning that follows the day or night on which the report has been made.

Where appropriate, rough sleepers will also be offered specialist support: Other organisations, like The Connection at St. Martin's, address a range of complex needs.

This is because many people sleeping rough struggle with multiple complex needs like addiction, poor mental health or unclear immigration status.

It was reported in 2018 that at least 50 local authorities had enacted Public Space Protection Orders to deter begging in town centres.

[25] Liberty has argued that these ordinances are illegal and that people experiencing homelessness often lack the access to the legal aid support needed to challenge them.