IOC Fellowship Reflection: Greater Manchester Combined Authority, City of Manchester, U.K.

By Tori Douglas

This summer, I travelled the Manchester, UK to take part in an incredible opportunity: to be involved in city government overseas. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority is a relatively new organization. Created just two years ago, the office is now a coalition of the ten local authorities in Greater Manchester. For decades of the British political climate, London has been the powerhouse of economic growth and prosperity. London has historically been given more power from the national government, receiving its first mayor in the 90s. In contrast, northern cities such as Manchester have been maintained under national governance without a mayor until relatively recently. The result has been a system in which the gaps between north and south in economic growth, infrastructure development, and localized power have grown vastly. However, there is a growing movement in the north of England for this to change. Greater Manchester has fought for devolution of power to local government in a bid for the city to have a fair chance at achieving similar growth to London. Under Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, the GMCA works to research, evaluate, and propose policies that will result in a greater Manchester.

            Manchester, like most major cities in the world, is facing a myriad of social and economic issues. Among them is an issue that many cities around the globe are plagued by: homelessness. Manchester’s homelessness rate has increased drastically over the last decade, and rates of displacement both among individuals and families continues to rise. As part of the research team for Planning and Housing at the GMCA, much of my work this summer centred on this key issue. This report will delve into the projects that I worked on this summer, what I learned, and how this plays into the GMCA on the whole.

            One of the first things that I worked on this summer was looking into different cohort pathways to homelessness. More specifically, I did full reports on women, ex-offenders, and ex-service personnel and their pathways to homelessness. This portion of the report will look into the findings of these different reports and how this research played into the larger work being done at the GMCA.

            Existing research suggests that the associated causes and risks of female homelessness differ from those of homelessness more generally. Homelessness is typically defined as an individual experiencing “rooflessness,” which may involve sleeping in streets, in cars, under bridges, and in abandoned buildings. However, this essay will assess homelessness through a broadened lens to include “hidden homelessness.” Hidden homelessness involves individuals or families experiencing displacement and subsequently staying with friends or family or living out of temporary housing such as hotels or rooming houses. In the case of female homelessness, most women fit into this category of displacement. The findings of my research were that women who experience domestic violence are disproportionately likely to experience homelessness. Further, women in homelessness are likely to experience multiple disadvantage. Multiple disadvantage links female experiences with domestic violence and sexual abuse with subsequent mental health issues and substance abuse. The effect of these disadvantages is multifaceted, and it places women in the unique situation to experience hidden homelessness.

Existing research provides substantial evidence to support that contact with the carceral state is linked to homelessness both prior to and post-conviction. Further, previous literature suggests that there is insufficient support provided to convicts awaiting release in securing safe and suitable housing. According to A House of Commons briefing paper on offenders and homelessness, roughly 2/3 of convicts awaiting release require support in securing accommodation. A report by Crisis revealed that 33% of hidden homeless individuals they had interviewed had previously been incarcerated. Similarly, Homelink purported that roughly one in five homeless individuals had previously had contact with the criminal justice system. Contact with the prison system leads to a higher likelihood of experiencing homelessness for a variety of reasons. Unemployment, subsequent recidivism, and inadequate post-prison statutory support all contribute to an ex-offender’s likelihood of experiencing homelessness.

While ex-service personal represent a small minority of reported statistics on people experiencing homelessness in the UK, it is worthwhile examining how and why veterans are experiencing homelessness following their time in service. The UK’s ex-service personnel homeless population, while small, is still significant in representing the troubles service personnel face in transitioning back into civil society. The findings of my research suggest that homelessness in the context of ex-service personnel is particularly associated with the success of the transitional period following the end of one’s service into civil society. There are many factors that contribute to a veteran’s likelihood of experiencing homelessness. First, existing research suggests that a significant number of service personnel, particularly among younger individuals, were disadvantaged prior to enlisting. The consequence of this is that these individuals are at a significantly higher risk of being compromising in their housing stability following their end of service. Second, the mental health of veterans following their service can also have a severe impact. With many ex-service personnel suffering from mental issues such as PTSD and depression, the associated risks of substance abuse, crime, and unemployment are heightened. All of these factors compound into a situation disadvantage for many people leaving service and increases their likelihood of ending up homeless.

How did this research play into the larger work at the GMCA? Creating effective policy proposal first depends on thorough research into understanding how an issue came about. While historically, homelessness has been spoken about in broad-spanning blanket terms, rhetoric surrounding homelessness is now beginning to understand that there are complex needs for different groups experiencing displacement. The experiences of women, for example, must be approached through a gendered lens in order to understand and mediate female-specific needs. Survivors of domestic abuse require different treatment and resources to an ex-offender, for example. Thus, the role of my research into different cohort pathways to homelessness provides a robust perspective into homelessness for different groups. Subsequently, the GMCA can better understand how to tackle the issue of homelessness in a more inclusive and effective way.

            The other two main things that I worked on in my time at the GMCA were homelessness data packs. This took two forms: an in depth look into youth homelessness in Greater Manchester and a broader homelessness data pack for Greater Manchester. This portion of the report will go into what these data packs entailed and the work that went into creating them.

            Though I did not complete a literature review on youth homelessness, I did work extensively on collecting and compiling youth homelessness data. Tasked with creating a data pack on youth homelessness, I took a deep dive into Greater Manchester youth homelessness data. This included looking into the number of young rough sleepers in GM, the number of young people owed a homeless duty by their local authority, the number of young people in receipt of Housing Benefit, and much more. Through the work I completed on this data pack, I have provided the GMCA with a comprehensive look into the numbers relating to youth homelessness. With young people making up a significant portion of those with housing need, this has contributed to the greater work being done at the GMCA by giving researchers a framework into how to approach and mitigate youth homelessness.

Following my work on youth homelessness, I was tasked with creating a larger data pack on homelessness at large in Greater Manchester. Thus, I largely replicated my research into the national data on homelessness to provide insight within the context of GM, while also taking this research further. I began to look not only at the exact number of people experiencing homelessness or housing support, but those who are at risk of homelessness

The research that I did on homelessness data has been compiled into a homelessness data pack using Piktochart, which can now be referenced whenever necessary to receive quick statistics on Greater Manchester homelessness. This is essential to the work being done on homelessness, as having a data pack in which one can quickly reference statistics within GM is extremely beneficial in saving time becoming efficient in the work done at the GMCA. The data pack contains a wide spread of information on homelessness, from the number of asylum seekers presenting in GM to the number of people presenting as homeless to their local authority.

To further my research on homelessness, I also completed a literature review on the existing homelessness intervention methods in an international context. This involved researching and evaluating homeless interventions such as the Housing First model, hostels and shelters, and residential communities. By understanding the different methods by which countries are addressing rising homeless population, the GMCA can have a broader understanding on ways to address homelessness within GM. Further, understanding the associated successes and failures of different programs such as Housing First, the GMCA can use existing research to know which programs are likely to succeed within the context of Greater Manchester.

Recently, the mayor of London announced plans to gain the power and means to implement rent control in the city. As a result of this, I was tasked with replicating the evidence base for London’s need for rent control in the context of Greater Manchester. As part of this, I created a briefing on the state of rent in Greater Manchester, and have worked on assessing whether or not the London model for rent control is applicable to GM. This largely included analysing data surrounding different housing welfare programs, namely Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. These programs provide support to individuals and families in need of financial support both in the private rented sector and the social rented sector.

 By analysing national data on the age, family type, and employment status of recipients, I created a profile for who is at risk of struggling with their rent. Further, I analysed data surrounding benefit caps. Benefit caps were introduced to the UK in 2013 as a means of capping the total amount of support one can receive in welfare support. This has had a significant impact on people renting, particularly in the Private Rented Sector, in which rents are increasingly rising. Between 2011 and 2019, rents in Greater Manchester have increased by 23%. While this is higher than the national rate of increase in rents (19%), this increase in London rents is significantly higher. Further, as rents have increased, so have benefit caps. Benefit caps in Greater Manchester have increased by 137% since February 2014, and as a result, more and more people are struggling to meet their cost of rent. The research I conducted on different factors associated with renting in GM provides the GMCA with the model to determine whether GM is well suited for rent control or not. What my lead researchers suggested is that while GM has experienced a rise in rent, it is unlikely that residents necessarily need rent control in the same way that London residents do.

This report has outlined the main projects that I worked on during my time at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. While I also worked on a myriad of other short-term tasks and projects, these were the projects that truly encompass the work I did this summer. In the two months that I spent in Manchester, I learned more than I could have anticipated. Not only have I massively expanded my ability to conduct research and data analysis, I have also been given an international perspective into the same issues we face in the US. I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to spend my summer!