By Karim Hammam
Shabana Mahmood has angered cabinet colleagues by refusing to share the Home Office's assessment of how her asylum reforms could increase homelessness, according to government sources.
Ministers demand impact assessment
Sources say the home secretary has repeatedly declined to quantify the expected rise in homelessness resulting from changes announced last November, which include ending permanent leave to remain and the duty to support people who would otherwise become destitute. Allies of Mahmood argue the details are not yet finalised and the system will be designed to minimise destitution.
Cross-government frustration
Former housing ministers Ali McGovern and Miatta Fahnbulleh, backed by then housing secretary Steve Reed, requested the impact data last year. They warned the proposals could jeopardise the government's target to halve rough sleeping by the end of the parliament. A meeting with Home Office minister Alex Norris yielded few answers, and a formal letter demanding the information was never sent after Fahnbulleh resigned.
Impact assessment acknowledges risk
An impact assessment released this month admitted homelessness could rise if repayments reduce disposable income, increasing demand for homelessness services and cost pressures for local authorities. The document noted the recoupment mechanism design is incomplete, making it impossible to assess the scale of risk.
Care sector and protest concerns
Current housing secretary Angela Rayner is also seeking more details, particularly fearing that moving asylum seekers out of hotels into houses of multiple occupancy could reignite anti-immigration protests. Rayner has also argued care workers should be exempt from legal migration changes to prevent a sector exodus. Prime minister Andy Burnham has promised to give every rough sleeper a route off the streets by Christmas, committing hundreds of millions of pounds.
Upcoming ministerial meetings
The dispute is set to be resolved over the next 10 days in a series of meetings between senior ministers. A government source said the prime minister supports Mahmood but wants to ensure sectors receive necessary support.
