In 2024-2025 councils in England faced a £325 million funding shortfall, whilst 1/3 young people were turned away for homelessness support.
Analysis shows that councils in England needed an additional £325 million in funding during the financial year 2024-2025 to ensure that all young people who report to homelessness support services receive an assessment and support if required.
Every young person who approaches their local authority because they are homeless or at risk of homelessness is entitled to an assessment under the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA).
However, our most recent Youth Homelessness Databank showed that in the financial year (FY) 2024-2025, over a third of young people who presented to their local authority for support did not receive an assessment.
What is the problem?
Centrepoint’s most recent Databank research published last month showed that in FY 2024-2025, 107,585 young people in England reached out to their local authority because they were experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. However, of these, only 65% of young people received an assessment.
Whilst young people may be occasionally be turned away because they don’t meet the threshold for an assessment or support, we are seeing a significant number of young people, potentially facing homelessness, being gatekept from accessing this support.
Young people’s experiences of gatekeeping
Our Helpline showed that between August 2024 and July 2025, there were 449 instances of gatekeeping. This amounts to 1 in every 10 calls.
The most common reason for young people to be gatekept from support was that they were refused an assessment for not being priority need. A young person may be considered priority need for many reasons, such as if they are a care leaver under 21, pregnant or fleeing domestic abuse, although all young people who require an assessment are entitled to one.
However, our Helpline has seen cases where even those who are priority need are being denied support. For example, a pregnant young person was left without an assessment for months despite rough sleeping and being able to provide proof of pregnancy. This contradicts the Homelessness Code of Guidance that local authorities should be following.
What is the solution?
For the last three financial years, Centrepoint has commissioned WPI Economics to calculate the shortfall that local authorities faced between their current funding and the amount they would need to meet their obligations to all young people who present for housing and homelessness support under the HRA.
To produce this estimate, WPI Economics has used Centrepoint’s annual Databank findings, along with data from the MHCLG’s Statutory homelessness in England figures and the latest ONS Mid-year population estimates.
This year’s analysis shows that for financial year 2024-2025, local authorities needed an additional £325 million in funding to fulfil their HRA duties. This is a decrease from last year’s figure, partly because less young people are progressing to a Main Housing Duty, which is the most expensive to provide.
We’re also seeing a changing geographical picture, with more young people being turned away from support in lower duty-cost areas like the North East as opposed to higher-cost areas such as London and the South East.
This figure shows there is still a significant gap between local authority spending and the amount they need to fulfil their obligations to all young people who present to them for support.
Centrepoint is pleased to see the Government’s latest National Plan to End Homelessness has committed to boost funding to councils and include a dedicated youth chapter in the Homelessness Code of Guidance. We are now calling on the Government to ensure this guidance provides clear details of how local authorities should use funding to support young people and is also met with sustained ringfencing in funds for prevention and relief duties. This can prevent young people being denied the assessments and support they vitally need.
