Skip to main content

Key Themes in Post-War Homelessness

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Post-War Homelessness Policy in the UK
  • 533 Accesses

Abstract

It is the contention of this book that, while the influences on homelessness policy are complex and vary between time periods, there are several factors that have consistently had a strong bearing on policy. The first of these factors, the favoured explanation for homelessness, is complicated by the tendency to view homeless people with dependent children and single homeless people differently. The level of demand for social rented housing varies considerably between geographical areas and is one of the factors that lead to differences in local responses to homelessness. Different types of prevention service may appeal to policy makers under different circumstances.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abel, G., & Wahab, S. (2017). ‘Build a friendship with them’: The discourse of ‘at-risk’ as a barrier to relationship building between young people who trade sex and social workers’. Child and Family Social Work, 22, 1391–1398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alden, S. (2015). On the frontline: The gatekeeper in statutory homelessness services. Housing Studies, 30(6), 924–941.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, I., & Morgan, J. (1997). Single people’s access to housing. York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bache, I. (2003). Governing through governance: Education policy control under New Labour. Political Studies, 51(2), 300–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balloch, S., & Jones, B. (1990). Poverty and anti-poverty strategy: The local government response. London, UK: Association of Metropolitan Authorities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bancroft, A., & Wilson, S. (2007). The ‘risk gradient’ in policy on children of drug and alcohol users: Framing young people as risky. Health, Risk and Society, 9(3), 311–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, R., & Lowe, S. (1990). Measuring housing need and the provision of social housing. Housing Studies, 5(3), 184–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benjaminsen, L., & Andrade, S. B. (2015). Testing a typology of homelessness across welfare regimes: Shelter use in Denmark and the USA. Housing Studies, 30(6), 858–876.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bevan, M., Kemp, P. A., & Rhodes, D. (1995). Private landlords and housing benefit. York, UK: Centre for Housing Policy, University of York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biehal, N., Clayden, J., & Byford, S. (2000). Preventative work with teenagers: Evaluation of an adolescent support team. York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bines, W. (1994). The health of single homeless people. York, UK: Centre for Housing Policy, University of York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bramley, G., & Fitzpatrick, S. (2018). Homelessness in the UK: Who is most at risk? Housing Studies, 33(1), 96–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brandon, D., Wells, K., Francis, C., & Ramsay, E. (1980). The survivors. London, UK: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. C. (1990). The focus on single mothers. In R. Lister (Ed.), Charles Murray and the underclass (pp. 61–65). London, UK: Institute of Economic Affairs Health and Welfare Unit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, K. (2015). Vulnerability and young people. Bristol, UK: Policy Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chartered Institute of Housing. (2018). Rethinking social housing: Final report. Coventry, UK: Chartered Institute of Housing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleary, M., Hunt, G. E., Matheson, S., & Walter, G. (2008). Psychosocial treatment for people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance misuse: Systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(2), 238–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darke, J., Conway, J., & Holman, C. (1993). Homes for our children. London, UK: National Housing Forum.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Verteuil, G., May, J., & von Mahs, J. (2009). Complexity not collapse: Recasting the geographies of homelessness in a ‘punitive’ age. Progress in Human Geography, 33, 646–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deacon, N. (1990). Mr Murray’s ark. In R. Lister (Ed.), Charles Murray and the underclass (pp. 75–80). London, UK: Institute of Economic Affairs Health and Welfare Unit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department for Communities and Local Government. (2008). Statutory homelessness in England: The experience of families and 16–17 year olds (Homelessness Research Summary Number 7). London, UK: Department for Communities and Local Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department for Communities and Local Government. (2011). Vision to end rough sleeping: No second night out nationwide. London, UK: Department of Communities and Local Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department for Communities and Local Government. (2016). 2014-based household projections: England, 2014–2039. Housing statistical release 12 July 2016. London, UK: Department of Communities and Local Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health. (2002). Dual diagnosis good practice guide. London, UK: Department of Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer, P., & Somerville, P. (2011). Introduction: Themed section on multiple exclusion homelessness. Social Policy and Society, 10(4), 495–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, A. (1999). Rationing device or passport to social housing? The operation of the homelessness legislation in Britain in the 1990s. In S. Hutson & D. Clapham (Eds.), Homelessness: Public policies and private troubles (pp. 133–154). London, UK: Cassell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, A., & Duncan, S. (1988). Responding to homelessness, local authority policy and practice. London, UK: Department of the Environment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Exworthy, M., Berney, L., & Powell, M. (2002). How great expectations in Westminster may be dashed locally’: The local implementation of national policy on health inequalities. Policy and Politics, 30(1), 79–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick, S., Johnsen, S., & White, M. (2011). Multiple exclusion homelessness in the UK: Key patterns and intersections. Social Policy and Society, 10(4), 501–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick, S., Pawson, H., Bramley, G., Wilcox, S., Watts, B., & Wood, J. (2017). The homelessness monitor: England 2017. London, UK: Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gholam, G. (1993). Before you go. London, UK: Centrepoint, Leaving Home Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, C. (1994). Government beyond the centre. Basingstoke, UK: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Green, D. G. (1998). Benefit dependency. London, UK: Institute of Economic Affairs Health and Welfare Unit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greene, J. (2014). Managing poverty, managing dissent: Homeless politics and collective action in London. Policy and Politics, 42(3), 315–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griggs, S., & Sullivan, H. (2012). Puzzling agency in centre-local relations: Regulatory governance and accounts of change under New Labour. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 16(3), 495–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimshaw, J. M. (2008). Family homelessness: Causes, consequences and the policy response in England. London, UK: The British Library.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harding, J. (2004). Making it work—The keys to success for young people living independently. Bristol, UK: Policy Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Harding, J., Irving, A., & Whowell, M. (2011). Homelessness, pathways to exclusion and opportunities for intervention. Newcastle, UK: Northumbria University Arts and Social Sciences Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harding, J., & Keenan, P. (1998). The provision of furnished accommodation by local authorities. Housing Studies, 13(3), 377–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harding, J., & Kirk, R. (1996). No light at the end of the tunnel: A study of youth homelessness in areas of industrial decline. London, UK: Crisis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, K., & Hirsch, D. (2019). Family sharing—A minimum income standard for people in their 20s living with parents. Loughborough, UK: Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, M., & Hupe, P. (2003). The multi-layer problem in implementation research. Public Management Review, 5(4), 471–490.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmans, A. (1995). Housing demand and need in England 1991–2011. York, UK: York Publishing Services Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homeless Link. (2014). The unhealthy state of homelessness: Health audit results 2014. London, UK: Homeless Link.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutson, S., & Liddiard, M. (1994). Youth homelessness. Basingstoke, UK: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Johnsen, S., & Fitzpatrick, S. (2010). Revanchist sanitisation or coercive care? The use of enforcement to combat begging, street drinking and rough sleeping in England. Urban Studies, 47(8), 1703–1723.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnsen, S., & Teixeira, L. (2012). ‘Doing it already?’: Stakeholder perceptions of Housing First in the UK. International Journal of Housing Policy, 12(2), 183–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, G., & Chamberlain, C. (2008). Homelessness and substance abuse: Which comes first? Australian Social Work, 61(4), 342–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, G., Scutella, R., Tseng, Y., & Wood, G. (2015). Entries and exits from homelessness: A dynamic analysis of the relationship between structural conditions and individual characteristics. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, A., & Pleace, N. (2010). A review of single homelessness in the UK 2000–2010. London, UK: Crisis and the University of York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, C., & Murie, A. (1998). Reviewing the right to buy. York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation Findings.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, G. (1995). Leaving home. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, G. (1997). Youth homelessness and the ‘underclass’. In R. MacDonald (Ed.), Youth, the ‘underclass’ and social exclusion (pp. 96–112). London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, G., & Stephens, J. (1994). Young people in and out of the housing market (Housing Research Findings 108). York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keenan, P., Lowe, S., & Spencer, S. (1999). Housing abandonment in inner cities—The politics of low demand for housing. Housing Studies, 14(5), 703–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, J. (2006). Central regulation of English local authorities: An example of meta-governance? Public Administration, 84(3), 603–621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kemp, P. A., Neale, J., & Robertson, M. (2006). Homelessness among problem drug users: Prevalence, risk factors and trigger events. Health and Social Care in the Community, 14(4), 319–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Killeen, D. (1988). Estranged. Edinburgh, Scotland: Shelter Scottish Campaign for the Homeless.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, M. M., Ford, J. D., Howard, D. L., & Bradford, D. W. (2010). Assessing trauma, substance abuse and mental health in a sample of homeless men. Health and Social Work, 35(1), 39–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leach, R., & Percy-Smith, J. (2001). Local governance in Britain. London, UK: Palgrave.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lipsky, M. (1980). Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, R. (1997). Dangerous youth and the dangerous class. In R. MacDonald (Ed.), Youth, the ‘underclass’ and social exclusion (pp. 96–112). London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macnicol, J. (1987). In pursuit of the underclass. Journal of Social Policy, 16(3), 293–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsland, D. (1996). Welfare or welfare state? Basingstoke, UK: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • May, J. (2000). Housing histories and homeless careers: A biographical approach. Housing Studies, 15(4), 613–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McConnell, A. (2018). Rethinking wicked problems as political problems and policy problems. Policy and Politics, 46(1), 165–180.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKee, K., & Philips, D. (2012). Social housing and homelessness policies. In G. Mooney & G. Scott (Eds.), Social justice and social policy in Scotland (pp. 223–228). Bristol, UK: Policy Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McNaughton, C. (2008). Transitions through homelessness, substance use, and the effects of material marginalisation and psychological trauma. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 15(2), 177–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mishra, R. (1984). The welfare state in crisis. Brighton, UK: Wheatsheaf Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moseley, A., & James, O. (2008). Central state steering of local collaboration: Assessing the impact of tools of meta-governance in homelessness services in England. Public Organization Review, 8, 117–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, C. (1990). The emerging British underclass. In R. Lister (Ed.), Charles Murray and the underclass (pp. 23–53). London, UK: Institute of Economic Affairs Health and Welfare Unit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neale, J. (2001). Homelessness among drug users: A double jeopardy explored. International Journal of Drug Policy, 12, 353–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niner, P. (1989). Homelessness in nine local authorities: Case studies of policy and practice. London, UK: Department of the Environment, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsell, C., & Parsell, M. (2012). Homelessness as a choice. Housing, Theory and Society, 29(4), 420–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pawson, H., & Davidson, E. (2008). Radically divergent? Homelessness policy and practice in post-devolution Scotland. International Journal of Housing Policy, 8(1), 39–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, E. (2012). ‘I like to let them have their time.’ Hidden homeless First Nation people in the city and their management of household relationships. Social and Cultural Geography, 13(4), 321–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Philip, K. (2000). Mentoring: Pitfalls and potential for young people? Youth and Policy, 67, 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pleace, N. (1998). Single homelessness as social exclusion: The unique and the extreme. Social Policy and Administration, 32(1), 46–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pleace, N., Fitzpatrick, S., Johnsen, S., Quilgars, D., & Sanderson, D. (2008). Statutory homelessness in England: The experience of families and 16–17 year olds. London, UK: Department for Communities and Local Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quilgars, D., Johnsen, S., & Pleace, N. (2008). Youth homelessness in the UK: A decade of progress? York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rassool, G. H. (2006). Understanding dual diagnosis: An overview. In G. H. Rassool (Ed.), Dual diagnosis nursing (pp. 3–15). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Raynsford, N. (2016). Substance not spin: An insider’s view of success and failure in government. Bristol: Policy Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Reeve, K. (2013). The morality of the ‘immoral’: The case of homeless, drug-using street prostitutes. Deviant Behaviour, 34(10), 824–840.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reeve, K., Cole, I., Batty, E., Foden, M., Green, S., & Pattison, B. (2016). Home. No less will do: Homeless people’s access to the private rented sector. London, UK: Crisis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, S., & Wagstaff, T. (2017). Moving on: Improving access to housing for single homeless people in England. London, UK: Crisis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubington, E., & Weinberg, M. S. (1995). The study of social problems (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherwood-Johnson, F. (2013). Constructions of ‘vulnerability’ in comparative perspective: Scottish protection policies and the trouble with ‘adults at risk. Disability and Society, 28(7), 908–921.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shinn, M., Baumohl, J., & Hopper, K. (2001). The prevention of homelessness revisited. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 1(1), 95–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Somerville, P. (1999). The making and unmaking of homelessness legislation. In S. Hutson & D. Clapham (Eds.), Homelessness: Public policies and private troubles (pp. 29–57). London, UK: Cassell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Somerville, P. (2013). Understanding homelessness. Housing, Theory and Society, 30(4), 384–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephens, M., & Fitzpatrick, S. (2007). Welfare regimes, housing systems and homelessness: How are they linked? European Journal of Homelessness, 1, 201–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens, M., Fitzpatrick, S., Marja, E., Van Steen, G., & Chzen, Y. (2010). Study on housing exclusion: Welfare policies, labour market and housing provision. Edinburgh, Scotland: Heriot-Watt University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Venn, S. (1985). Singled out. London, UK: CHAR (Campaign for Single Homeless People).

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, A. (1990). Blaming the victims. In R. Lister (Ed.), Charles Murray and the underclass (pp. 66–74). London, UK: Institute of Economic Affairs Health and Welfare Unit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, S., & Austerberry, H. (1986). Housing and homelessness: A feminist perspective. London, UK: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox, S., Perry, J., & Williams, P. (2015). UK housing review: 2015 briefing paper. Coventry, UK: Chartered Institute of Housing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiles, J. (2011). Reflections on being a recipient of care: Vexing the concept of vulnerability. Social and Cultural Geography, 12(6), 573–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jamie Harding .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Harding, J. (2020). Key Themes in Post-War Homelessness. In: Post-War Homelessness Policy in the UK. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22117-1_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics