Research reports

Housing and homelessness

The Benefits of Youth? Young People, Supported Housing, Affordability, and Employment: Learning from the WMCA Rent Simplification Proof of Concept

Spring Housing Association / Aston University / CPFW / WMCA · 2026

This report evaluates a West Midlands Combined Authority pilot scheme (March 2024–March 2025) that simplified the benefits system for young people in commissioned supported housing who moved into work, capping their rent liability at 13% of eligible costs. Based on interviews with 11 young people and 22 practitioners, the review found that while the scheme was positively received by participants — with strong improvements in mental health, confidence, and financial stability — low take-up (42 participants across the WMCA) was driven by the scheme's complexity, short timeframe, and structural barriers including a lack of affordable 'move-on' accommodation. The report concludes that the existing interaction between Housing Benefit, Universal Credit, and supported housing strongly disincentivises employment for young people, and calls for simplified, longer-term, and more flexible interventions at national, regional, and local levels.

InterviewCase studyWest Midlands

Housing and homelessness

Databank 2025: The State of Youth Homelessness in the UK

Centrepoint · 2026

This annual databank report maps the scale and nature of youth homelessness across the UK in 2024–25, finding that 123,934 young people faced homelessness — a 6% increase on the previous year, equivalent to 1 in every 60 young people. The report reveals that in England only 65% of young people who presented to local authorities as homeless received a housing assessment, leaving over 37,000 without any documented support despite a statutory duty to assess them. Dedicated chapters examine domestic abuse, LGBTQ+ young people, and refugees as distinct and disproportionately affected groups, with qualitative findings from focus groups contextualising the systemic barriers and gatekeeping practices young people face.

Secondary analysisFocus groupUK-wide

Criminal justice and youth violence

Young people's feedback & experiences about safety in their community (insight briefing)

Young Scot · 2025

This insight briefing draws on secondary analysis of multiple surveys conducted by Police Scotland and Young Scot to examine young people's experiences of community safety, policing, and crime across Scotland. Key findings show that while most young people have broadly positive views of their local police, satisfaction drops when they actually contact the service, and those living in areas of higher deprivation feel significantly less safe. Awareness of rights, quality of communication, and trauma-informed policing are identified as priorities for improving young people's safety and confidence in police.

SurveySecondary analysisScotland

Mental health and wellbeing

Truth About Youth: our 2025 insights survey

Young Scot · 2025

Young Scot surveyed 2,590 young people aged 11–25 across Scotland between September 2024 and January 2025 on a wide range of issues including wellbeing, safety, health, climate change, cyber crime, and children's rights. Most respondents could identify something to look forward to, but 43% said their mental health had worsened since 2019, and only 16% felt that policy and decision makers understood the issues facing young people. The most pressing concerns were lack of affordable housing, poverty, racism and prejudice, and the climate emergency, with education identified as the most important issue for young people in Scotland right now.

SurveyScotland

Mental health and wellbeing

'The crisis makes us more alone': a participatory action research investigation into emotional support for young people in the context of the cost-of-living crisis

Toynbee Hall · 2025

This participatory action research project, led by Toynbee Hall with Thrive LDN and young peer researchers from Tower Hamlets, examined the emotional support available to young people aged 16–22 from low-income backgrounds during the cost-of-living crisis. Findings show that financial strain is significantly eroding quality family time, deepening intergenerational communication gaps, and compounding poor mental health outcomes — particularly for LGBTQ+, disabled, and ethnic minority young people. The crisis has made community activities less accessible and increased pressure on young people to take on provider roles, leaving many more isolated. Recommendations call for improved mental health services for over-16s, community-building activities, culturally appropriate support, and systemic policy changes to increase family incomes.

Co-producedParticipatoryInterviewEnglandWales

Mental health and wellbeing

From Surviving to Thriving: The Seven Drivers of Well-being for Children in Care and Care Leavers

Coram Institute for Children / Coram Voice · 2025

This report, produced by the Coram Institute for Children, analyses over 27,000 survey responses from children in care and care leavers collected through the Bright Spots programme between 2015 and 2024. It identifies seven key drivers of well-being: emotional and mental health support, family and friends, trusted and supportive carers, feeling safe and at home, known and trusted workers, being involved and informed, and opportunities to learn and grow. The findings show that while many children in care report their lives are improving, care leavers experience a sharp drop in well-being upon leaving care, with rates of low well-being increasing over time. The report calls for policy and practice to be shaped by what children and young people themselves say matters to their lives.

Young people consultedSurveySecondary analysisEngland

Mental health and wellbeing

Young Scot BIG Survey 2023-24

Young Scot · 2025

Young Scot's first BIG Survey gathered views from 2,014 young people aged 11–25 across Scotland between September 2023 and January 2024. The survey found that while young people felt broadly positive about family and friends, only 18% felt great about how things were going in Scotland, and 62% felt negative about the world. Mental health was the top concern for personal health (35%), with 47% reporting their mental health had worsened since 2019; other key findings covered digital and AI use, awareness of rights under the UNCRC, and financial pressures including 74% always looking to cut costs.

SurveyScotland

Care experience and family

Needs of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children and Young People Living in London (Participatory Research)

University of Bedfordshire / LSE CASE / South London Refugee Association / London Councils · 2025

This participatory research, conducted with and by unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people in London, explores their experiences of the asylum and care systems, their well-being, protection, and integration needs. Findings reveal that young people frequently face child-insensitive asylum procedures, lengthy waits for decisions, inadequate legal support, poor information about their rights, and significant gaps in social work support through the asylum process. The report makes wide-ranging recommendations to central and local government, including independent legal guardianship from arrival, faster and trauma-informed decision-making, and extended care support to age 25 regardless of education or immigration status.

Co-producedInterviewParticipatoryLondon

Care experience and family

Good Practice Report #GoneTooFar: Insights from Local Authorities Across England, On Good Practice for Keeping Children in Care Close to Home

Become · 2025

This report examines what local authorities in England are doing well to keep children in care close to their home communities, drawing on interviews with senior leaders from ten local authorities and Greater Manchester Combined Authority. It identifies eight good practice themes — including reducing demand, improving foster care capacity, and embedding contextual safeguarding — that have helped authorities maintain lower proportions of children living more than 20 miles from home. The report finds that 18,000 children in care in England currently live more than 20 miles from home, a figure that has risen by two-thirds since 2013. It calls on the Department for Education, Ofsted, and local authorities to improve data, accountability, and regulatory frameworks to tackle this systemic challenge.

Young people consultedInterviewCase studyEngland

Care experience and family

British Red Cross Report: ‘I returned to life’ why refugee family reunion must be protected

British Red Cross · 2025

This British Red Cross report explores the experiences of refugee families navigating the UK's family reunion visa system, drawing on interviews with people who have lived experience of separation and reunion, as well as lawyers and caseworkers. It finds that family separation severely harms refugees' mental health and ability to integrate, that hidden costs and long delays push some families towards dangerous journeys, and that women and children left behind face acute risks of violence and exploitation. The report recommends that any future changes to the family reunion route be guided by principles of fairness, prioritising need, flexibility, and efficiency.

Co-producedInterviewMixed methodsUK-wide

Employment, skills and economic security

The Opportunity Index: The Geography of Opportunity and Social Mobility in England

Sutton Trust · 2025

This report presents an Opportunity Index for all 543 parliamentary constituencies in England, analysing how socio-economic background and geography shape educational and employment outcomes for young people eligible for Free School Meals (FSM). Using linked administrative data covering over 10 million pupils across 25 years, it finds that opportunity is heavily concentrated in London, with all top 20 constituencies located there, while constituencies in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North West fare worst. FSM pupils in the best-performing areas are significantly more likely to reach university, secure employment, and enter the top 20% of earners compared to those in the lowest-ranked areas. The report calls for policy action across early education, school funding, apprenticeships, higher education access, and regional economic investment.

Secondary analysisEngland

Employment, skills and economic security

Unlocking the potential of young people furthest from the labour market

Joseph Rowntree Foundation · 2025

This report examines the situation of young people aged 16–24 who are furthest from the labour market, focusing on the approximately 600,000 who have been out of work or learning for more than 12 months. It finds that mental ill health — often intertwined with poverty, housing insecurity, and low educational attainment — is an increasingly common barrier, and that existing 'work-first' employment programmes have largely failed this group. The report sets out four key policy principles — a blended approach, highly targeted support, high unit cost with contained total cost, and flexible success measures — and assesses the Government's Get Britain Working white paper and Pathways to Work green paper against these principles.

Focus groupSecondary analysisEngland

Housing and homelessness

Move On for Young People Experiencing Homelessness in 2023/24

Centrepoint · 2025

This report examines the accessibility and affordability of housing for young people aged 16–24 with experiences of homelessness in England in 2023/24. It finds that nearly all English regions had a shortfall between social housing allocations and the main housing duty owed to young people, with one-bedroom stock undersupply a key driver. Private rents rose sharply and HMO stock contracted, leaving nearly half of young private renters surveyed struggling to afford rent; meanwhile young people made up 16% of all households entering temporary accommodation despite being 13% of the adult population. The report makes policy recommendations including abolishing the Shared Accommodation Rate, prioritising one-bedroom social home development, and expanding Stepping Stone accommodation.

SurveySecondary analysisEngland

Employment, skills and economic security

Youth Index 2025

The King's Trust (formerly The Prince's Trust) · 2025

The King's Trust TK Maxx Youth Index 2025 is the 17th annual survey measuring the happiness and confidence of young people aged 16–25 across the UK. The report finds that NEET young people have the lowest overall wellbeing scores, with 50% feeling hopeless about their future, 53% feeling embarrassed about being out of work, and 30% having experienced a mental health problem due to unemployment. Young people from low-income backgrounds, those with no GCSEs, and those with a disability also report significantly lower wellbeing. Despite these pressures, 70% of young people feel determined to achieve their goals, and the majority see employment as key to stability, confidence and mental health.

SurveyUK-wide

Mental health and wellbeing

Young People's Wellbeing in Doubly Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods in Greater Manchester

Local Trust / #BeeWell / Centre for Education and Youth · 2025

This report examines the wellbeing of young people living in 'doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods' (DDNs) — areas that are both materially deprived and lack social infrastructure — in Greater Manchester, comparing them with peers in non-DDNs. Using survey data from over 62,000 young people and two online focus group workshops, the study finds that young people in DDNs report worse life satisfaction, greater feelings of unsafety, and slightly higher loneliness than those in non-DDNs. The gaps are most pronounced for girls, LGBTQ+ young people, and white young people. Recommendations include greater involvement of young people in local decision-making and ring-fenced funding to protect informal 'third places' for socialising.

SurveyFocus groupNorth West

Housing and homelessness

Hidden In Plain Sight: Understanding Youth Homelessness 2023-24

Centrepoint · 2025

This report analyses youth homelessness across the UK in the financial year 2023–24, estimating that approximately 118,134 young people (aged 16–24) faced homelessness — a 10% rise on the previous year. Using Freedom of Information data from English local authorities alongside published data from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, it finds that only 67% of young people who presented to their local authority were formally assessed. The report also explores how homelessness is experienced differently by gender and nationality, and highlights systemic challenges including local authority gatekeeping, underfunding, and inconsistent implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. Recommendations are made to central and local government to improve data collection, ring-fence funding, and extend protections for vulnerable groups.

Secondary analysisInterviewUK-wide

Education, learning and attainment

The Children's Plan: The Children's Commissioner's School Census (Sept 2025)

Children's Commissioner for England (Dame Rachel de Souza) · 2025

A landmark census of nearly 19,000 state-funded schools and colleges in England — representing 86% of all such settings — found that schools are increasingly filling gaps left by underfunded wider children's services, providing mental health, social care, and community support far beyond their core teaching role. The report reveals wide variation in pastoral provision by region and deprivation level, and shows that funding shortfalls, lack of specialist staff, and poor data sharing prevent schools from fully meeting pupils' additional needs. The Commissioner makes seven major recommendations for reform, including a national 'additional needs' framework, a new Children's Plan digital platform, a core specialist support offer for all schools, and reformed Education, Health and Care Plans.

SurveySecondary analysisEngland

Housing and homelessness

Understanding the Private Rented Sector in WMCA Region (Children, Families and Young People)

WMCA Homelessness Taskforce / Social Finance · 2025

This review examines how the private rented sector (PRS) operates across the seven local authorities in the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) region, with a focus on its role in causing and relieving homelessness. Using quantitative analysis of rental listings and statutory homelessness data, alongside surveys and focus groups with landlords and tenants, the report finds that only 4% of listed properties are priced at or below the Local Housing Allowance rate, and that significant affordability pressures vary substantially within as well as between local authorities. The report concludes with a set of local, regional, and national recommendations to reform PRS policy and practice, including improvements to landlord incentive schemes, long-term leasing arrangements, supported housing regulation, and advocacy for LHA rate increases.

SurveyFocus groupWest Midlands

Housing and homelessness

There's No Place Like Home: Uncovering LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness in the UK

akt / University of Kent / University of Bristol / University of Southampton · 2025

This landmark mixed-methods study is the first to examine LGBTQ+ youth homelessness in England using an intersectional lens. It finds that LGBTQ+ young people are more than twice as likely to experience hidden homelessness as non-LGBTQ+ peers, with trans and non-binary young people, those from racialised minorities, and those with mental health conditions facing even greater risk. The research reveals that government data significantly underestimates the scale of the problem, and that mainstream housing services largely lack the knowledge or prioritisation needed to support this group. The report calls for better data collection, targeted training for local authorities, LGBTQ+-specific supported accommodation, and changes to homelessness law and guidance.

Co-producedSurveyInterviewEngland

Health and physical wellbeing

Accessing Care: Health, Hope and Change for Care-Experienced Young People (Pan-London Children in Care Council, NHS NEL ICB)

Partnership for Young London · 2025

This report explores the barriers care-experienced young people face when accessing healthcare services in North East London, drawing on focus groups and interviews with young people and senior NHS leaders. Key findings highlight long waits for mental health services, abrupt transitions at age 18, poor continuity of care, low awareness of entitlements such as free prescriptions, and a systemic lack of care-aware training among frontline staff. Young people reported that services are frequently designed around assumptions of family support, which care leavers often lack. The report makes six recommendations including mandatory care-aware training co-produced with young people, portable records with named coordinators, simplified entitlements, and an unsupported patient pathway for those without family networks.

Co-producedFocus groupInterviewLondon

Care experience and family

Handle With Care: Annual Survey of Kinship Carers 2025

Kinship · 2025

This report shares key findings from Kinship's 2025 annual survey of more than 1,900 kinship carers across England and Wales, providing a 'state of the nation' overview of kinship families. It finds that financial hardship, unsuitable sleeping conditions, and poor local authority support continue to pose significant risks to family stability and children's outcomes, with 13% of carers concerned about their ability to continue. While some improvement is noted in health, loneliness, and local authority trust ratings, progress is slow and from a very low base. The report also examines policy developments including the Kinship Allowance Pilot and the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, finding that awareness of new entitlements remains low and that family group decision making is often poorly supported.

SurveyEnglandWales

Civic participation and youth voice

Beyond the Brink? The state of funding for youth services (Jan 2025)

YMCA England & Wales / Vestey Holdings · 2025

Local authority expenditure on youth services in England has fallen 73% in real terms since 2010-11, representing a £1.2bn cut, while Wales has seen a 27% reduction. The number of council-run youth centres and directly employed youth workers has declined sharply over the same period, with 14% of responding councils reporting no youth centres at all in their area. The report uses Section 251 outturn data, Freedom of Information requests, and Welsh Government datasets to track spending trends, staffing levels, and centre provision across England and Wales. It calls for sustained revenue funding through the new National Youth Strategy to prevent further erosion of youth services.

Secondary analysisOtherEnglandWales

Care experience and family

The Grand Campaign — £3,000 for every care leaver: clear rights, fair support and freedom to choose

Coram Voice · 2024

This report by Coram Voice / A National Voice (ANV) investigates whether English local authorities are providing care leavers with the full £3,000 Setting Up Home Allowance following the April 2023 government uplift. Using a Freedom of Information request to all 153 local authorities in England and online workshops and 'share my story' submissions from care-experienced young people aged 16–25, the report finds that while 9 in 10 councils pay the full £3,000, 1 in 10 do not, and there are wide inconsistencies in eligibility criteria, written policies, and how much choice young people have in spending the allowance. The report recommends that the Department for Education update statutory guidance to mandate the £3,000 minimum for all care leavers up to 25, that councils publish clear written policies, and that young people are trusted and supported to make their own spending decisions.

Young people consultedSurveyFocus groupEngland

Mental health and wellbeing

The Psychological Impact of the Age Dispute Process

Young Roots · 2024

This report examines the psychological impact of local authority-led age dispute processes on unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK. Using a focus group with seven age-disputed young people and a comparison of clinical distress scores, the study found that age-disputed young people presented with significantly higher levels of psychological distress than those not subject to dispute. Participants described prolonged uncertainty, identity confusion, broken trust with professionals, disruption to housing and education, cultural insensitivity in assessments, and experiences of intimidation and coercion. The report recommends a shift towards holistic, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive age assessment practices.

Young people consultedFocus groupSecondary analysisUK-wide

Results