Josh Nicholson
LightNews LightNews
joshhnicholson.bsky.social
Josh Nicholson
@joshhnicholson.bsky.social
16 followers 2 following 1 posts
Senior Researcher at the Centre for Social Justice. Views my own.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Josh Nicholson
paulabarkermp.bsky.social
I have written to the government, alongside 40 of my colleagues, calling for Housing First to be rolled out nationwide as part of the upcoming homelessness strategy.

Please find the letter below.

Thank you to @csjthinktank.bsky.social

(1/2)
Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF CC: Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State (Minister for Local Government and Homelessness) Dear Steve and Alison, Government funding for Housing First We are writing to welcome your commitment to delivering a new national homelessness strategy. As you have both made clear, rebuilding a prevention-first system and restoring effective partnership between central and local government is essential if we are to turn the tide on homelessness in this Parliament. As part of this work, we strongly encourage you to ensure that Housing First is a central component of the new strategy. The evidence from the three major pilots in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Liverpool City Region is clear: Housing First delivers for people with the most complex needs who are currently cycling in and out of rough sleeping, hostels, crisis healthcare and the criminal justice system. Independent evaluations show tenancy sustainment rates approaching 80–90%, significant reductions in A&E admissions, fewer interactions with police and emergency services, and marked improvements in wellbeing and long-term stability. The Centre for Social Justice’s (CSJ) recent No Place Like Home report provides a compelling financial case for expanding this provision nationally. The report shows that for an investment of just over £100 million between now and the end of this Parliament, Government could increase the number of Housing First places in England from around 2,500 to over 5,500. That means more than doubling the current capacity, giving local authorities the tools to support those with the most entrenched and complex needs. Crucially, this investment also represents good value for money. The CSJ analysis estimates that every £1 invested in Housing First returns around £2 in savings across health, criminal justice and temporary accommodation budgets over time. … local areas to design wraparound support that works. It is a practical, compassionate and evidence-led approach that complements this government’s wider mission to rebuild public services, strengthen local partnerships and shift the system towards early intervention. With the new homelessness strategy in development, now is the moment to secure the continuity and scale that Housing First needs. National leadership, supported by a modest, targeted investment would give local commissioners the certainty to plan sustainably and would prevent the loss of hard-won progress from the pilots. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further and to support the department’s work in any way that would be helpful. We look forward to your response Yours sincerely, Paula Barker MP Kate Osborne MP Dr Simon Opher MP Kim Johnson MP Jonathan Brash MP Jon Trickett MP Mary Glindon MP Danny Beales MP Yasmin Qureshi MP Patrick Hurley MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP Neil Duncan-Jordan MP Alex Sobel MP Dr Allison Gardner MP Chris Hinchliff MP Afzal Khan MP Margaret Mullane MP Navendu Mishra MP Marie Rimmer MP Nadia Whittome MP David Smith MP Jeff Smith MP Brian Leishman MP Chris Webb MP Connor Naismith MP Ian Byrne MP Ian Lavery MP Karl Turner MP Andrew Cooper MP Derek Twigg MP Gill Furniss MP Mary Kelly Foy MP Richard Burgon MP Grahame Morris MP Sean Woodcock MP Justin Madders MP Maya Ellis MP Clive Lewis MP Peter Dowd MP Charlotte Nichols MP Lee Barron MP
December 3, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Josh Nicholson
csjthinktank.bsky.social
🚨NEW: Angela Rayner calls on colleagues to "step up" and show the change the Govt can bring.

In @labourlist.bsky.social, @joshhnicholson.bsky.social presents a fully-costed plan to enact radical change on rough sleeping.

Let's scrap civil servant relocation £s to help homeless veterans👇
August 4, 2025 at 11:07 AM
joshhnicholson.bsky.social
My piece in LabourList on today's new rough sleeping stats and why we need urgent action now.

@csjthinktank.bsky.social is calling for a national rollout of Housing First in response to today's shocking figures. Read why here ⬇️
labourlist.bsky.social LabourList @labourlist.bsky.social · Feb 27
"Rough sleeping is not only a fiscal problem, costing the taxpayer an estimated £20,128 per person every year, but a human catastrophe and societal failure."

✍️ Josh Nicholson of the Centre for Social Justice takes a look at new rough sleeping data:
labourlist.org/2025/02/roug...
'Rough sleeping’s soaring. Will defence spending help homeless veterans?' - LabourList
New data out today shows that rough sleeping has hit a post-pandemic high. Last year nearly 4,667 people…
labourlist.org
February 27, 2025 at 2:17 PM