Youth Homelessness

Youth homelessness in the UK
A decade of progress?
Deborah Quilgars, Sarah Johnsen and Nicholas Pleace
An evaluation of the progress being made to address youth homelessness in the UK.
There have been significant policy developments across the UK to address youth homelessness in recent years, most particularly the extension of priority need groups and a new emphasis on the prevention of homelessness. This study, the first UK-wide review of youth homelessness for a decade, explores whether these changes have been effective and recommends key priorities for future action.
In particular, it explores:
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the scale of youth homelessness;

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the profile and nature of youth homelessness, and whether it has changed over time;

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Please contact:
Communications, Joseph Rowntree Foundation,
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Youth homelessness in the UK
A decade of progress?

Deborah Quilgars, Sarah Johnsen and
Nicholas Pleace

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has supported this project as part of its programme of research and innovative development projects, which it hopes will be of value to policymakers, practitioners and service users. The facts presented and views expressed in this report are, however, those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The Homestead, 40 Water End, York YO30 6WP
Website: www.jrf.org.uk

About the authors
Deborah Quilgars, Sarah Johnsen and Nicholas Pleace, Centre for Housing Policy,
University of York.

© Centrepoint, 2008
First published 2008 by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
All rights reserved. Reproduction of this report by photocopying or electronic means for non-commercial purposes is permitted. Otherwise, no part of this report may be reproduced, adapted, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electronic,
Services could usefully develop policies to support better youth transitions across housing, employment and family formation.

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1 Background to the review
Just over a decade ago the first-ever Inquiry into Preventing Youth Homelessness was set up by ten housing and youth charities to examine the scale, nature and possible solutions to youth homelessness (Evans, 1996). The inquiry was established in response to widespread concern at the substantial increases in youth homelessness in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It succeeded in demonstrating that youth homelessness was a very significant social problem throughout the UK and that widespread action was required to address it. The present review represents the first attempt since the inquiry to evaluate the progress being made on addressing youth homelessness across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. This first chapter outlines the considerable policy change that has occurred in the last ten years and introduces the proposed scope and methods of the review.

A decade of policy and legislative change
In the last decade, there have been very significant policy developments