SAFE Protocol
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The SAFE campaign, launched by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Households in Temporary Accommodation, aims to foster increased collaboration between local authorities and their support services, when a homeless household is placed in temporary accommodation (TA), through a legal Duty to Notify.
Currently, the Homelessness Code of Guidance details how local authorities should be notifying receiving councils when placing households in another local area. This guidance is not always followed, which can result in households, including vulnerable families with children, becoming lost in the system. This guidance should be more strictly followed, so that we can ensure those in TA don’t become forgotten, and instead continue to receive the support they are entitled to.
The SAFE campaign aims to expand this system of notification by calling for a legal duty on local councils to notify GP surgeries and schools when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, to allow for a more holistic support for households in temporary accommodation.
The SAFE campaign hopes to encourage ongoing collaboration between supporting services and the local council, to offer a more holistic support package for households in temporary accommodation.
These changes would apply to all households who become homeless, whether they're placed in TA elsewhere, or remain in their local area.
We can’t continue allowing our children's health and education to suffer because of their homeless situation. We want homeless households to experience a continuity of support so that they can one day move back into settled housing.
CAMPAIGN WIN: Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act Royal Assent (29 April 2026).
CAMPAIGN WIN: The Amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill for a notification system was welcomed and passed in the House of Lords (19 January 2026).
The Government tabled an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill to introduce a new duty on local housing authorities to notify educational institutions, GP practices and health visiting services when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, if consent is provided.
The Government has also committed to providing guidance for local authority housing officers and relevant education and health bodies to ensure that the duty is well understood.
The Amendment was passed in the House of Lords during the Bill's Report Stage.
CAMPAIGN WIN: The Government has committed to a notification system for GPs and schools in its Child Poverty Strategy and Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy (December 2025).
The Government has released its Child Poverty Strategy (5 December 2025) and Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy (11 December 2025), committing to support for households in Temporary Accommodation.
We are delighted to see the recognition of the risk of child mortality in temporary accommodation and our report on Child Mortality in Temporary Accommodation quoted throughout the Homelessness Strategy, with a commitment to reducing mortality.
We are pleased that both strategies also commit to improving the quality and suitability of temporary accommodation placements, including action to prevent poor out-of-area placement practice.
We also welcome the commitment to identifying and reducing the number of school days lost for children in temporary accommodation, supporting Local Authorities, trusts and schools to record TA status consistently and provide targeted support to children.
Finally, we are delighted to see the Government commit to a notification system for GPs and schools when a family is placed in Temporary Accommodation - the change that we have campaigned for through the SAFE Protocol.
CAMPAIGN UPDATE: Members of the House of Lords have expressed their support for an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill that would require councils to notify schools and GPs when a child is placed into temporary accommodation (June 2025).
CAMPAIGN UPDATE: The Government felt unable to accept our amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (March 2025).
The SAFE campaign sought an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill to place a duty on local councils to notify GP surgeries and schools as to the status of a newly homeless family.
Although the Government felt unable at the time to accept this amendment, we were glad to see the Government support the need for a notification protocol and pledge to look into finding the best method to implement it.
We are hoping that Local Authorities are able to take the brave new step in immediately implementing this new notification process. Some councils have already begun to notify, and we welcome conversations with others to assist in this new process.
Shared Health Foundation, co-secretariat of the APPG, has worked in collaboration with local authorities, schools, health professionals and families with lived experience of homelessness, to develop Guidance for Local Authorities, Primary Care and Schools. We know that a little can go a long way in providing children and their families with a sense of hope during a very difficult time, and that Health and Education services are well-placed to provide the stability that homeless families need to continue to thrive.