She played tribute to the Labour government’s record on homelessness but she said that there was more to be done and put forward a four point plan to:  

• Crackdown on use of bed and breakfast to house homeless families with children.
• End inconsistent and harsh decisions by local authorities on homelessness applications.
• End the diversion of the homeless into the private housing.
• Scrap the Single Room Rent System that forces young homeless people into the worst housing. She paid tribute to the work in Northampton of the YMCA which faces pressures because of possible funding cuts next year.

She said that homelessness had gone down 70 per cent under the Labour Government, bed and breakfast  use had declined and victims of domestic violence and homeless 17  year olds had more rights. But there were still loopholes in the regulations that had to be filled.

Sally Keeble signs a red brick to send to the Chancellor as a symbol of her support for Shelter's campaign for more social housing.