During Summer 2015 Crisis established an independent panel of experts from across the housing and homelessness sector, including lawyers, an academic, local authorities and housing association sector representatives, as well as homelessness charities, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the current homelessness legislation in England.

The purpose of the review was also to consider and recommend legislative change in order to prevent and tackle single homelessness more effectively, while ensuring that the current entitlements for families and others who are assessed as in priority need and might be owed the main statutory homelessness duty were not undermined.

The panel considered the following questions:

• could reforms be made to place a more effective and inclusive duty on local authorities to prevent and relieve homelessness?
• are there elements of legal reform in Scotland and Wales that may be appropriate for England?
• what is required to ensure existing and future legal obligations are enforced?

See also: No one turned away campaign