---
title: "Mark Turner’s homelessness pathway cannot substitute for housing"
type: note
genre: opinion
url: https://policystability.com/post/2026-11/mark-turners-homelessness-pathway-cannot-substitute-for-housing/
markdown_url: https://policystability.com/post/2026-11/mark-turners-homelessness-pathway-cannot-substitute-for-housing.md
publisher: "Center for Policy & Stability"
author: "Editorial Board, Center for Policy & Stability"
published: 2026-11-09
updated: 2026-11-09
program: "Cost of Living & Housing"
subtopic: "Housing failure"
countries: ["United States", "United Kingdom"]
tags: ["Mark Turner", "England", "United States", "homelessness", "temporary accommodation"]
format: response
responding_to: https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/when-it-comes-to-ending-homelessness-speed-is-not-the-only-thing-that-matters-99215
claim: "The homelessness system’s failure is now measured in households held in temporary accommodation, so better handoffs cannot replace secure and affordable homes."
language: en
license: "© 2026 Center for Policy & Stability. Quotation with attribution permitted."
cite_as: "Center for Policy & Stability, \"Mark Turner’s homelessness pathway cannot substitute for housing,\" 9 November 2026, https://policystability.com/post/2026-11/mark-turners-homelessness-pathway-cannot-substitute-for-housing/"
---


# Mark Turner’s homelessness pathway cannot substitute for housing

> The homelessness system’s failure is now measured in households held in temporary accommodation, so better handoffs cannot replace secure and affordable homes.

Responding to: [When it comes to ending homelessness, speed is not the only thing that matters](https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/when-it-comes-to-ending-homelessness-speed-is-not-the-only-thing-that-matters-99215), Inside Housing

Mark Turner, chief commercial officer of The Housing Network, argues that Britain’s homelessness response must connect emergency shelter to assessment, support and move-on accommodation rather than treating a bed for the night as an endpoint. [r1]

He is right about the handoff. A person who has escaped the street can still be left without a clear route to a settled home; that is the institutional gap Turner’s proposal tries to address. But better coordination cannot be allowed to obscure the larger failure: the system is absorbing households at scale.

More than 330,000 households were assessed as owed a homelessness duty in 2024–25, while more than 134,000 households were living in temporary accommodation. [r1] These are different measures, and they should not be presented as interchangeable rates. They do, however, show a housing crisis that reaches beyond visible rough sleeping.

The pressure is not confined to major cities. In Cornwall, households placed in temporary accommodation increased from 250 before the pandemic to 912 in March 2025, a rise of 264.8%; many were families with children. [r2] Temporary accommodation is therefore not simply an emergency response for people sleeping outside. It has become part of how the state manages the consequences of unaffordable or unavailable housing.

The United States offers a related warning, although its measures are not directly comparable with England’s statutory homelessness figures. US homeless-response systems had permanent housing for 9% of unhoused people and shelter for 35% of unsheltered people. [r3] The shared pattern is not identical statistics but public capacity falling short of need.

Turner’s proposed pathway could reduce repeated assessments, service breakdown and premature eviction. [r1] It should be judged by whether people reach durable tenancies, not by how efficiently they are moved between temporary stages.

That requires choices about social housing, rents, incomes and local-government finance, not only improved commissioning. Partnership is useful. It is not a substitute for homes.

## References

1. [r1] Inside Housing. "When it comes to ending homelessness, speed is not the only thing that matters." 2026-11-09. https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/when-it-comes-to-ending-homelessness-speed-is-not-the-only-thing-that-matters-99215 (context)
2. [r2] Falmouth Packet. "Cornwall households in temporary accommodation rise 264.8% | Falmouth Packet." 2026-11-04. https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/26695604.cornwall-households-temporary-accommodation-rise-264-8/ (supporting)
3. [r3] National Alliance to End Homelessness. "New Analysis Shows Further Reductions in Homelessness - National Alliance to End Homelessness." 2026-11-07. https://endhomelessness.org/media/new-analysis-shows-further-reductions-in-homelessness/ (supporting)

## About this note

Opinion published by the Editorial Board of the Center for Policy & Stability, researched and drafted with AI assistance.
Methodology: https://policystability.com/about/#methodology