New research strengthens West Midlands’ commitment to tackle ethnic disparities in homelessness

A new report by the Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) at Heriot-Watt University reveals the need for targeted strategies to address the disproportionate levels of homelessness experienced by some minoritised ethnic communities in the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) area.

The report, "Designing out homelessness amongst minoritised communities in the West Midlands Combined Authority Area," was conducted at the invitation of the WMCA Homelessness Taskforce and Race Equalities Taskforce. It examines the scale, patterns, and drivers of homelessness among minoritised communities and provides practical recommendations for prevention.

The research confirms that certain minoritised communities experience higher rates of homelessness in the region, with particularly elevated risks for Black and Mixed ethnicity households. Black-led households in the WMCA area were found to be more than twice as likely to experience statutory homelessness as White British-led households. At the same time, Pakistani and Bangladeshi households are at much greater risk of hidden forms of homelessness, such as sofa surfing or living in overcrowded homes.

Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick, from the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society is Director of I-SPHERE and the report's lead author. She said: "Our research shows that complex structural factors, including housing tenure, poverty, and demographic patterns, combine with discrimination to drive disproportionate homelessness among minoritised communities in the West Midlands, as they do across England. We found that Black households experience statutory homelessness at more than twice the rate of White households, though this disparity is less pronounced than elsewhere in the country.

"What's encouraging is that we've identified numerous prevention practices that, if expanded, could significantly reduce these disparities. We've seen innovation throughout the region, from strengths-based employment initiatives to data-driven upstream efforts to reduce homelessness risks. These examples demonstrate that, with the right partnerships and targeted interventions, we can make substantial progress in designing out homelessness among minoritised communities in the area."

The researchers also identified culturally attuned support for multi-generational households as already tackling the challenges the WMCA area faces.

Speaking ahead of a regional practitioner event where the findings will be presented, the Deputy Mayor of the West Midlands, Councillor Sharon Thompson, said: "This important research provides a clear roadmap for our continued work to design out homelessness. The West Midlands Combined Authority and its regional cross sector partners are committed to addressing these inequalities through our Homelessness and Race Equalities Taskforces. The report recognises the innovative prevention work already happening across our region including the importance of partnership working between mainstream and specialist services to ensure culturally sensitive and high-quality provision. It also challenges us all to do more to ensure everyone has access to safe, suitable housing regardless of their ethnic background."

The report’s recommendations include:

• Implementing 'universal' structural changes to reduce population-level risks of homelessness should be a key priority for the UK Government. These include expanding social housing supply, increasing the Local Housing Allowance maximum rate, and placing local authority finances on a more sustainable footing.
• Connect with the cross-government homelessness strategy. The UK Government should use the forthcoming cross-departmental homelessness strategy to embed understanding and action at a national level on the disproportionate impact of homelessness on minoritised communities.
• Radically re-engineer the link between the asylum and statutory homelessness systems. The UK Government should consider devolving asylum accommodation provision to local authorities, allowing households with a positive decision to remain until settled housing is found. It should commit to integration efforts from day one and allow asylum seekers to work if their application takes more than six months.
• Grip the supported exempt accommodation scandal. The robust mandatory approach set out by Government in The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 is welcome, but clarity on funding is imperative. Local authorities must prepare for the contraction of this sector and plan for more appropriate options.
• Tackle racism amongst private landlords. The UK Government should consider whether discriminatory action by private landlords can be more tightly regulated via the proposed Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman. Expanded access to legal advice is needed for minoritised groups to defend their housing rights.
• Prioritise upstream prevention with minoritised communities. Local authorities should target support to communities known to be at high risk of homelessness, including using council data to target employment, benefits and financial support.
• Examine key local partnerships. The WMCA should explore partnership working that is currently failing to prevent homelessness effectively amongst minoritised communities, particularly in the mental health and criminal justice spheres.

The findings will be presented at a practitioner event hosted by I-SPHERE in collaboration with the WMCA Homelessness Taskforce. This half-day event will take place on 18th July in Birmingham city centre.

The event will bring together housing providers, local authorities, voluntary sector organisations, and community representatives to explore the practical implementation of the report's recommendations.

Housing and homelessness prevention teams, social landlords, private sector housing enforcement officers, migrant support organisations, domestic abuse services, mental health practitioners, and representatives from criminal justice, education and employment services are encouraged to attend. Interest can be expressed by emailing homelessness@wmca.org.uk.

An executive summary of the report can be found here.