National insurance hike could be the ‘final nail in coffin' of homeless services

Homelessness organisations have warned Rachel Reeves that crucial services are under threat following a tax hike in her Budget.

- KATE DEVLIN WHITEHALL EDITOR

In an urgent letter, seen by The Independent, they have appealed to the chancellor to extend a carve-out for the NHS and public sector to those who help some of the most vulnerable in society.

A £25bn rise in employers’ national insurance contributions could take between £50m and £60m a year out of frontline services for the homeless, the sector estimates. The letter has been signed by more than 100 high-profile organisations including Crisis, St Mungo’s and Depaul UK, the youth homelessness charity.

Earlier this year figures showed that rough sleeping in London had hit a record high, with a total of 11,993 people sleeping on the streets of the capital in the year to March. Two months later, in August, the revelation that there were more than 150,000 children living in temporary accommodation, another record high, prompted calls for more action to address what the government has acknowledged is a “national scandal”.