Everyone In Was ‘Missed Opportunity’ To End Rough Sleeping

The government’s Everyone In homelessness initiative launched at the start of the pandemic was a “missed opportunity” to end rough sleeping for good, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has heard.

Acting for homelessness charity Shelter, Martin Westgate KC told a hearing for the inquiry’s final module on Tuesday (17 February) that “on its own terms”, the Everyone In programme was “undoubtedly a success”. In March 2020, ministers took the unprecedented step of asking councils to house those sleeping rough or at risk of it, in a move that prevented thousands of infections and hundreds of deaths from Covid, Mr Westgate said.

When the programme came to an end there was an “ambition” to move people on to permanent accommodation, but this did not materialise, according to Mr Westgate. “In common with others, Shelter considers this to be a missed opportunity to end rough sleeping,” he said, adding that numbers have now reverted to their pre-pandemic levels. According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), 37,000 people were helped under the scheme, yet Shelter’s research has found that fewer than a quarter of people accommodated had found settled housing.

In his evidence, Mr Westgate also highlighted several shortcomings with Everyone In, and said Shelter received frequent reports of people being unable to access services or being turned away. In one instance, a pregnant young woman who had been sleeping in a tent for a month was told she had to apply online despite explaining that her phone was broken and she did not have enough credit. A second major issue was adequate support for those who were accommodated, with many people coming off the streets while dealing with mental health crises or potentially life-threatening substance withdrawal.

Mr Westgate pointed to a report by the Dying Homeless Project that estimates there were 266 more deaths of people experiencing homelessness in 2020 compared to 2019, a 37% increase. Only 10 of those were Covid-related, but 50% of them were either from drug and alcohol use or suicide. Another “persistent problem” was how Everyone In coexisted with existing legal restrictions on accessing support and services for those without leave to remain or with no recourse to public funds.

Mr Westgate said that the initial advice from central government was inclusive and suggested that everyone was to be accommodated, regardless of their immigration status. “However, it didn’t identify any power under which authorities could provide support,” he said, adding that this led to confusion among councils. Earlier in the session, the inquiry heard from Aswini Weereratne KC, acting on behalf of the Migrant Rights Consortium (MRC), who said that migrants who were subject to immigration control during the pandemic had limited access to “protective and life-saving measures”, such as access to healthcare, benefits and housing.

In his evidence, Mr Westgate also pointed to the general state of housing going into the pandemic, with some 7.6 million households suffering at least one major problem relating to overcrowding, affordability or poor-quality living conditions. He pointed to evidence given earlier in the week by inquiry counsel Kate Blackwell KC, who said in her opening submission that people’s housing situations had a profound impact on how they experienced the pandemic. A report following a May 2025 roundtable with housing and homelessness organisations including Shelter, covered by Inside Housing last week, also highlighted the impact the pandemic had on housing and homelessness.

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry continues.