Wiltshire charity calls for clarity over Government homelessness strategy
Alabaré has called new figures on households living in temporary accommodation "frightening"
Last updated 28th Jul 2025
A Wiltshire-based homelessness charity is calling for clarity from the Government on it's homelessness strategy.
Alabaré is making the call as the number of people living in temporary accommodation has reached a record high.
Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for January to March 2025 revealed more than 131,000 households are in temporary housing, a 12% rise on 2024.
Alabaré Chief Executive, Andrew Lord, told Greatest Hits Radio the stats are "frightening".
"That is a shocking number. Everybody deserves a place called home, a place that is safe, that is secure, that is functional for their needs, a place called home. The idea that a record number of people are living in temporary accommodation is frightening," he said.
Mr Lord did credit the Government for targeting 1.5 million new homes and committing to investing £39 million in social housing over the next decade.
But he insisted action is needed: "What we all need is the actual action on the ground, those homes being built as soon as practically possible, because at the end of the day, 131,000 households and not living in long term appropriate housing."
He said the clarity is about how organisations like Alabaré encourage and support Government to make sure the homes are constructed as quickly as possible.
Mr Lord warned that without those homes arriving in a timely fashion, he fears the number of people living in temporary housing will only rise.
He said: "Households or single people living in temporary accommodation for the long term is not good for their mental health, their ability to get work, and their overall well-being as well.
"Therefore you know we really do need government to bring forward those plans to ensure that actually homes are built so that people in temporary accommodation can move into permanent accommodation."
Mr Lord added that, alongside creating the homes for people, it's vital to ensure there are sufficient support resources around people to help break the cycle of homelessness.
An MHCLG spokesperson said: “We are taking urgent and decisive action to build the homes we need and get back on track to ending homelessness for good.
“We will publish our homelessness strategy later this year to build on the action we have already taken - providing £1 billion for crucial homelessness services this year, alongside tackling the root causes by building 1.5 million new homes and boosting social and affordable housing backed by £39 billion of investment.”