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Government announces allocations for 3,300-home rough sleeper housing fund

Ministers have allocated more than £150m to fund the delivery of 3,300 homes for rough sleepers by the end of March next year.

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The government has allocated over £150m to fund the delivery of 3,300 homes for rough sleepers by the end of March next year #UKhousing

A total of 276 schemes have been approved across all regions of England, including 38 in London.

Funding in London was allocated by mayor Sadiq Khan and will provide longer-term homes for more than 900 rough sleepers in the capital.

Outside of London, a further 238 councils have received approval to move to the next phase of development, covering a total of 2,430 new homes.

The funding was first announced by the government in May as part of a £433m investment to deliver 6,000 new long-term homes for rough sleepers by the end of this parliament, of which 3,300 are to be delivered within the first year.

Those who move into the new housing will also be supported by specialist staff to access support for mental health or substance misuse.


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While the majority of funding is being provided directly to councils, a number of registered providers have been approved for funding in London, including Network Homes (£959,665) and One Housing (£3,272,232).

The announcement of funding followed the government’s move in March to order councils to find self-contained accommodation for all rough sleepers so that they could safely self-isolate during the COVID-19 crisis.

By September, the government said that more than 29,000 rough sleepers had been supported as a result of the scheme, with more than 10,000 people in emergency accommodation and nearly 19,000 in settled accommodation or move-on support.

However, charities have repeatedly warned that a homelessness crisis may be on the horizon over winter due to the rolling back of the government’s furlough scheme, combined with the end of the eviction ban.

At the same time, night shelters have been forced to close or drastically reduce their numbers due to coronavirus restrictions.

In September, the government allocated £91.5m in funding to help individual councils fund local plans for rough sleepers over the coming winter months, alongside a £10m Cold Weather Payment.

On today’s announcement, housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Our Everyone In plan is widely considered the most effective action taken by any country in the world to protect those sleeping rough from the pandemic.

“And that work hasn’t stopped – 29,000 rough sleepers and other vulnerable people have been supported into safe accommodation since the start of COVID-19.

“The next step in our mission is to ensure they have a more settled home, which is why we are providing over £150m as part of the biggest ever investment in homes for the homeless, to deliver over 3,000 new long-term homes across England, giving them the stability and security they need to start to rebuild their lives.”

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “It’s positive that this funding has now been allocated to provide long-term homes for rough sleepers. These homes, along with support, will be vital in ensuring people who have experienced rough sleeping do not return to the streets.

“Housing associations will be providing many of these homes and support and look forward to working with local authorities to ensure people are helped into permanent housing.

“This is an important step towards achieving the government’s manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by 2024, alongside investment in new homes for social rent.”

Nick Walkley, chief executive of Homes England, said: “We’re proud to be supporting local authorities, charities, housing associations and our other partners access the funding they need to get on and deliver these crucial homes.”

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