Andy Burnham won’t end homelessness: why funding and policy fall short

Britain talks a lot about compassion, but the gap between words and action is painfully visible on our streets. When a prime minister vows to end rough sleeping, the promise lands against a backdrop of tents, doorways and people sleeping in plain sight — a reminder that rhetoric without delivery feels hollow to many.

Andy Burnham has put rough sleeping at the top of his national agenda, and that matters. Ending life on the pavement would be a profound moral and public-health achievement. Yet his record as Greater Manchester mayor — where visible street homelessness remained widespread despite years in office — raises a straightforward question: why should the country trust that this time will be different?

Why Burnham’s pledge meets widespread doubt

The skepticism isn’t born of cynicism alone; it’s grounded in observation. In cities where politicians promise change, the reality for many is unchanged — encampments persist, people beg, and drug use continues in public spaces. Those seeing the same scenes day after day tend to assume that policy announcements are more about signaling than solving.

There are three core reasons that past efforts have fallen short:

• Policymakers focused on strategies and headlines rather than the hard logistics of shelter and staffing.
• Existing accommodation models — particularly shared hostels — don’t meet the needs of many people who sleep rough.
• Local politics and public opposition to new housing stall delivery, leaving supply gaps that drive homelessness.

Burnham must explain why a national program will succeed where a long mayoral tenure did not. Vague commitments won’t persuade residents who pass the same doorways and see the same people day after day.

What practical steps would demonstrably reduce rough sleeping

Solving visible homelessness requires a mix of immediate shelter, tailored support, and long-term housing supply. Below are concrete measures that could be scaled quickly.

• Immediate individual sleeping units: Deploy basic, secure pods — units with a bed, toilet, sink, light and a charge point — to provide dignity and safety tonight. A program creating around 6,000 such units would buy time for many people and reduce the harms of street living.
• Smaller, private options for those who need them: Not everyone can live in a communal hostel. Private rooms with locks work for people who fear theft or violence, or who struggle with shared living due to addiction or other issues.
• Expedite modular homes at scale: Manufacture simple, decent modular dwellings to move people out of emergency hostels and into more stable settings.

These steps are not about quick fixes that paper over the problem; they are about creating stable conditions from which longer-term recovery can occur.

Build the workforce: outreach teams and integrated support

Beds alone don’t rebuild lives. The other essential ingredient is properly funded, expert outreach.

• Teams need training in mental health, addiction intervention, and trauma-informed care.
• Outreach workers should be localised and persistent — knowing who is sleeping where, what barriers they face, and how to navigate them into services.
• Coordinated pathways must link accommodation offers with addiction services, primary care, housing officers and policing when necessary.

These specialist teams are the glue that turns shelter into a route off the streets. Without them, an available room can go unused or be unsuitable.

Behavioural rules, offers of help and tough choices

There is an ethical and political tension around enforcement. It’s politically risky to set rules, but allowing public deterioration also has moral costs. A workable approach rests on three principles:

• Offer appropriate accommodation first. People must be given realistic, well-resourced options before any consequences are considered.
• Make acceptance part of an accountable pathway. If someone refuses sustained and suitable help repeatedly, local authorities need powers to address persistent public sleeping — accompanied by fair, humane procedures.
• Protect dignity while enforcing safety. Consequences should not be punitive for poverty itself, but should respond to public health and safety needs when assistance is available.

Leaving people exposed on the pavement is neither compassionate nor politically neutral — it’s a policy failure. Local experience shows some people decline shelter because of strict hostel rules or addiction-related issues. That reality requires accommodation options that respect autonomy while protecting public spaces.

Tackle the housing shortage and reform local accountability

None of the street-level fixes will scale without more homes. Britain currently has more households than homes, a basic mismatch that fuels long-term homelessness.

Key reforms include:

• Mass housebuilding targets with clear funding and delivery schedules.
• Mayoral and council powers tied to measurable housing outputs — and consequences if they repeatedly fail to deliver the homes promised.
• Political leadership to overcome NIMBY opposition by linking new housing to local benefits and fast, transparent planning decisions.

People broadly agree the country needs more homes; the challenge is turning that general consensus into local action and actual supply.

Specific transparency and accountability Burnham should offer now

To convince a skeptical public, a plan needs detail, funding and timelines. Burnham should publish the following:

• A funded timetable for immediate emergency accommodation (how many pods, where, and by when).
• Staffing plans for outreach teams, including training standards and employer responsibilities.
• Clear criteria for what counts as a “suitable offer” of accommodation and the consequences of repeated refusal.
• Targets for modular and permanent housing delivery, and penalties or funding adjustments if targets are missed.

If the aim is to reduce street homelessness visibly and sustainably, the public will judge results, not rhetoric. Accountability and resources — not another strategy document — will determine whether promises translate into fewer people sleeping rough and more people moved into safe, stable homes.

Andy Preston was mayor of Middlesbrough from 2019 until 2023.

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Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson is a dedicated columnist focusing on political and social debates. With twelve years in editorial writing, he provides nuanced, well‑argued perspectives. His commentaries invite you to form your own views and engage in critical issues.