91Èȱ¬

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has promised to give all military veterans, young care leavers and victims of domestic abuse a "guaranteed roof over their head".

All three groups will be exempt from local connection tests, which most councils use to decide who can qualify for social housing.

Currently armed forces veterans are only exempt from the rules for five years.

But housing charity Shelter warned changing the rules would not address the shortage of social homes.

In his speech to Labour's annual party conference, Sir Keir said the issue of homelessness amongst veterans was an "injustice hiding in plain sight".

"In every town and city in this country. People who were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, who put their lives on the line to protect us all, but who will not have a safe place to sleep tonight," he said.

“We cannot stand by and let this happen anymore."

He added: "We will repay those who served us and house all veterans in housing need. 91Èȱ¬s will be there for heroes."

The PM said young care leaves and victims of domestic abuse would also get "the security they deserve" and "a guaranteed roof over their head".

The government said the regulatory changes to bring in the measures would be brought forward "as a priority when parliamentary time allows".

Local connection rules require someone to have a link to the area, for example because they have lived there recently, work there or have close family living there.

Councils can decide what exact rules they apply, but national guidance encourages them to use some form of local connection criteria when deciding who qualifies for social housing.

The government said the rules "unfairly penalise" veterans, who have often spent years posted across the country or abroad.

It said more than 80% of homeless veterans referred for housing support left the forces more than five years ago.

Meanwhile, domestic abuse victims and care leavers are often forced to leave their local area for their own safety or to access support.

Charities supporting veterans, victims of domestic abuse and care leavers all welcomed the announcement.

However, Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: "It's absolutely right that people fleeing domestic abuse, care leavers and veterans are given access to a secure, genuinely affordable home.

"But changing the rules for who qualifies for homes where won’t address the fact that there’s just fundamentally not enough social housing available.

She called for a "clear target and investment for building social rent homes".

Labour has promised to overhaul planning rules and reintroduce mandatory local housing targets to help build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.

However, the party has not given a target for the number of new social homes that it wants to build.

Social housing, which is provided by councils or housing associations, is more affordable as rents are set below market rates.

James Needham, chief executive of Help for Heroes, said: "We know that many of the UK’s veterans struggle to make the transition back to civilian life after their service is over.

"Increased levels of homelessness is just one of the ways in which these struggles manifest; particularly among those who join and leave at a young age.

"While this is a positive step, we must all be mindful that homelessness is rarely an issue that occurs in isolation, and we look forward to continuing to work with the UK government to understand, and implement, the changes required to help all veterans and their families live well after service."

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women's Aid, said reforming local connection tests would "make a real difference" to survivors of domestic abuse.

"We see firsthand the devastating cost of the housing crisis on survivors, who are often forced to ‘choose’ between homelessness and housing insecurity or risking their safety by remaining with a perpetrator," she said.

Katherine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of the charity Become, said the announcement was a "welcome step" which would help address the "care cliff" facing young people leaving care, "where important support and relationships disappear and they are expected to become independent overnight".