More rough sleepers are set to be helped off the streets and into safe accommodation thanks to a further £203 million funding
More rough sleepers are set to be helped off the streets and into safe accommodation thanks to a further £203 million funding, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP announced today (15 May 2021).
The funding will be allocated to councils across England and will support vital projects such as shelters, specialist mental health or addiction services, and targeted support to help rough sleepers off the streets for good.
It will be used by councils, charities and other local groups to fund up to 14,500-bed spaces and 2,700 support staff across England.
See the Rough Sleeping Initiative: 2021 to 2022 funding allocations
This funding is one part of an unprecedented £750 million investment this year to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping – part of the government’s drive to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament.
Analysis of the Rough Sleeping Initiative – now in its fourth year – shows that the programme has reduced rough sleeping by almost a third compared to areas which have not taken part in the programme.
Building on the past success of the programme, funding has almost doubled this year and will provide additional support to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of people sleeping rough across England has fallen for the third year in a row, and by 37% in the last year alone.
Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:
Minister for Rough Sleeping, Eddie Hughes MP said:
The Rough Sleeping Initiative was launched in 2018 to help local areas provide tailored services to those living on the streets. With today’s investment, the government has now allocated almost £400 million to 281 councils through the programme – which supports coordinated projects across areas including housing, mental health, addiction support and domestic abuse.
Examples of the work that the government is funding at a local level include:
Funding from previous years of the programme is already having a transformational effect at a local level with local authorities reporting significant falls in the number of rough sleepers.
Today’s announcement comes after the government made an additional £212 million investment in new, secure, long-term accommodation for rough sleepers earlier this year, with 6,000 homes pledged by the end of this Parliament.
This is alongside the government’s unprecedented Everyone In initiative, launched by the Housing Secretary at the start of the pandemic to protect rough sleepers, which has so far supported 37,000 people, with more than 26,000 already moved on to longer-term accommodation.
Further Information
Examples of the work funded by the Rough Sleeping Initiative to date include: