We are delighted to see the Government’s National Plan to End Homelessness includes a specific strategy for young people which recognises the power of early intervention in preventing the transition from youth homelessness to adult rough sleeping.  

Announced in December, the plan includes promising measures such as rolling out mental health support teams in schools nationwide by 2029, expanding youth hubs, and identifying at risk young people before they get caught up in criminal activity. It also has specific measures to protect care leavers and better support for struggling families. 

We break down how the Government has vowed to tackle youth homelessness this year:

Youth Guarantee  

• A Youth Guarantee Advisory Panel has been established in partnership with the Department for Education, Youth Futures Foundation and Youth Employment UK to help young people on benefits for 18 months enter paid work. 
• Read more about our thoughts on the Youth Guarantee scheme.

Care leavers 

• The Government plans to develop, by summer 2026, a cross-government action plan to reduce the proportion of care leavers under 25 experiencing homelessness, with measurable targets to be achieved by the end of this parliament. 

• Introduce a new duty for councils to provide Staying Close support up to age 25 where their welfare requires it, helping care leavers to find and keep suitable accommodation.

• Work with councils to extend good practice on how councils can provide rent deposit support to young people, including through Rent Guarantor schemes, starting with care leavers and extending to other young people. 

Upstream 

• The Government says early findings from Upstream England pilots demonstrate promising results, including by our Deliver Partner Roundabout.
• This ground-breaking programme helps young people overcome barriers to education, training and employment while providing family mediation to reduce conflict at home.
• Opportunities to build on this are being explored with The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales’ Homewards programme. Find out more about how EveryYouth is working with Homewards.  

National Youth Strategy  

• The Government aims to deliver the National Youth Strategy – including funding for more in-person activities and support, access to trusted adults, alongside new or improved youth spaces.  

Families First Partnership Programme 

• The Government has vowed to invest £500 million a year in the Families First Partnership Programme to shift children’s social care towards early intervention  

• Families will be appointed a dedicated lead practitioner, who will draw on a wider multi-disciplinary team to provide holistic whole-family support.   

Mental Health Support Teams 

• Mental Health Support Teams will be expanded in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. 

School absences 

• 90 attendance and behaviour hubs will be established to improve school practice, and roll out one-to-one attendance mentoring in 10 councils, reaching 10,000 young people over three years.  

Preventing criminal activity 

• A new multi-agency Young Futures Panels will be piloted to proactively identify young people before they get caught up in criminal activity and refer them to support services much earlier. 

National Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit 

• Anational Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit will be developed and a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness. 

• The National Standards for the Provision of Children and Young People’s Advocacy Services will be updated to highlight the importance of independent advocacy to support young people, where appropriate, including 16- and 17-year-olds who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. 

Better service experience for young people

• Councils and other public services have been encouraged to work with people with lived experience, and use data to design accessible, inclusive and culturally-sensitive services, supported by targeted interventions, which meet the needs and experiences of all people who need their help, including young people 

Better Futures Fund 

• Better Futures Fund will support up to 200,000 struggling children, young people and their families including looking to improve youth homelessness 

Read the Government’s full National Plan to End Homelessness.