UK pledges £442m to get rough sleepers off streets by Christmas

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The UK government has pledged £442m to offer everyone sleeping rough in England a route off the streets by Christmas as Prime Minister Andy Burnham steps up his drive to end rough sleeping.

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The funding will support emergency accommodation and practical help with housing, health and other needs, with the government saying the programme will provide immediate routes off the streets while also helping people move into settled accommodation.

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The announcement comes one month after Burnham made ending rough sleeping his first instruction as Prime Minister.

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According to the report on the Home Office website on Wednesday, Burnham also announced plans for a national summit in the autumn, bringing together leaders from business, finance, charities, health and faith communities to discuss how different sectors can contribute to ending rough sleeping.

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The government said the £442m package is fully funded from uncommitted budgets at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

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PUNCH Online reports that rough sleepers are individuals who live and sleep in the open air or in places not meant for human habitation, such as streets, park benches, doorways, cars, or abandoned buildings, because they have no secure or stable home.

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While all rough sleepers are homeless, not all homeless people sleep rough; many live temporarily in hostels, shelters, or on friends’ couches

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Burnham said, “No-one should have to bed down in a doorway or outside a station. But we’ve seen it for so long that it feels like Westminster has started to accept it.

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“I won’t accept it. That’s why my first instruction as Prime Minister was to end rough sleeping. And it’s why today we’re getting started with a national drive to get everyone in for Christmas.

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“We did it in the pandemic. We can do it again. But it needs all of us. Government will put the money in. But I’m asking leaders in communities and sectors across society to play their part locally too.

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“Let’s get people out the cold. And let’s bring back hope.”

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More than 1,000 settled homes planned

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The government said the funding will support more than 1,000 settled homes over the next three years, alongside intensive support for people experiencing long-term homelessness.

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Areas facing the greatest pressures will receive the largest share of the funding, while councils and mayors will be responsible for driving local action and deciding how support should be delivered in their communities.

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Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “When the Prime Minister pledged to end rough sleeping, we said we’d move urgently from words to action. Today we’re delivering on that promise.

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“This funding will help thousands of people leave the streets behind, move into secure homes and get the support they need to rebuild their lives.

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“Working alongside councils, mayors and charities, we’re backing local areas to tackle rough sleeping at its roots, giving people the security, dignity and opportunity they deserve, and restoring hope to those who have been let down for far too long.”

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The government is also publishing guidance to help local authorities mobilise quickly and provide a consistent route off the streets this winter.

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The guidance includes a specific focus on women experiencing rough sleeping, recognising that women may be under-represented in official statistics and face greater risks of violence, abuse and exploitation.

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Local authorities are encouraged to consider single-sex accommodation with specialist, intensive and trauma-informed support for women who have experienced domestic abuse and sexual violence.

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The government said the approach forms part of its wider commitment to halve violence against women and girls over the next 10 years.

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Crisis welcomes ‘historic milestone’

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The government said £8.4m of the new funding would go to the Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund.

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That takes total funding allocated today for 100 projects to £47m over three years, supporting small and medium-sized charities and community organisations working with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

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Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said the announcement could put England on the path towards ending rough sleeping.

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“Today’s announcement represents a clear statement that in the 21st century, we will not tolerate a situation where people are having to bed down on our streets. It puts us on the path to an historic milestone: the end of rough sleeping in England.”

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He said people sleeping rough faced increased risks of illness, violence and abuse, adding: “So getting people off the streets and onto the path to a settled, secure home will save lives.”

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Downie welcomed the funding for settled homes and said accommodation combined with support would be necessary to address long-term homelessness.

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Charities welcome Christmas commitment

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Dr Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s, described the announcement as “a pivotal moment” for people experiencing rough sleeping.

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She said: “In 21st Century Britain, nobody should be forced to sleep on the streets. We have long been calling for urgent and decisive action to end rough sleeping, and we wholeheartedly welcome Andy Burnham’s commitment to offer a route off the streets for everyone sleeping rough by Christmas, with a longer term, sustainable, housing-led programme developed alongside.”

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Lord Bird, co-founder of the Big Issue, said the commitment reflected the approach used during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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“COVID proved that when we decide rough sleeping is unacceptable, we can act and get people in off the streets. This Christmas commitment is a welcome return to that spirit,” he said.

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Bird also stressed the importance of ensuring people were not returned to the streets after receiving temporary accommodation.

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“But it’s important that people are not just brought in from the cold for a few weeks, only to be sent back out again,” he said.

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Seyi Obakin, chief executive of youth homelessness charity Centrepoint, said the funding represented a serious commitment to the government’s pledge.

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“It is brilliant to see the Prime Minister’s pledge to end rough sleeping backed by a serious commitment of funding,” he said.

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Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, also welcomed the additional funding and the government’s commitment to emergency accommodation, practical support and longer-term housing.

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Liz Rutherfoord, chief executive of Single Homeless Project, said the announcement was significant for women experiencing rough sleeping, while Nahar Choudhury, chief executive of Solace, welcomed the government’s recognition that women’s experiences of rough sleeping differ from those of men.

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The government said the £442m package comprises £340m announced in July for new support to provide settled accommodation for people sleeping rough long-term, and an additional £102m announced as part of Wednesday’s programme for immediate routes off the streets and further support.

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The new measures, according to the UK government, are intended to provide “emergency accommodation this winter” while expanding “longer-term housing and support for people experiencing homelessness.”

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