Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of (a) the number of people with additional needs awaiting a Specialised Supported Housing home and (b) the estimated cost r of housing people with additional needs in unsuitable accommodation.

In November 2024, my department published independent research on supported housing supply, demand, funding and commissioning across Great Britain – which can be found here. The published research report included coverage of working-age adults with learning disabilities, autistic people, and people with mental health needs.

The research estimated that in 2023 there were 53,000 units of supported housing serving working-age adults with a learning disability and/or autism in England, and 19,000 units for working-age adults with mental health needs. The report noted that half of local commissioners surveyed who responded said that there was a lot of or some unmet demand for working-age adults with a learning disability and/or autism, and that almost two-thirds of commissioners thought there was some or a lot of unmet need for supported housing for working-age adults with mental health needs.