Press release

James Brokenshire confirms funding to help people off the streets

Councils across the country will share over £46 million to help get people off the streets and into accommodation.

From:
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2018 to 2021) and The Rt Hon James Brokenshire
Published
25 March 2019
This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government
homelessness
  • Investment totalling £46 million allocated to 246 areas nationwide – providing an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 new beds in total
  • Funding will be used for additional staff and outreach and accommodation services
  • This now means that over three-quarters of local authorities in England are covered by specialist Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) funding

Councils across the country will share over £46 million to help get people off the streets and into accommodation, Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP has confirmed today (25 March 2019).

The money forms part of the government’s £100 million Rough Sleeping Strategy and will be used to fund rough sleeping coordinator roles, add new or additional outreach services and extend existing or provide new temporary accommodation. This includes night shelters and hostel spaces. There is also an opportunity to provide housing-led solutions such as Housing First services.

This funding includes £34 million for the 83 Rough Sleeping Areas and an additional £12 million for other areas of the country, demonstrating this government’s commitment to tackling the issue and ending rough sleeping once and for all.

Across all areas, it is estimated that the money will provide funding for up to:

  • 110 rough sleeping coordinators to improve local handing of the issue
  • 300 outreach workers
  • 350 other support and specialist roles
  • over 1,400 new emergency bed spaces, including winter night shelter provision
  • over 700 new long-term beds, including in the private rented sector and supported housing
  • more than 500 new temporary spaces, through hostels for example
  • over £2.5 million for spot-purchasing beds and increasing access to accommodation

Some projects will provide specialist support such as family reconnections, immigration advice or access to mental and physical health services.

Others will focus on providing services for specific groups of people, such as vulnerable women, those transitioning from leaving care or people trying to get their life back on track after leaving prison.

Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said:

The £100 million-backed Rough Sleeping Strategy sets out this government’s blueprint for ending rough sleeping for good.

We are taking the necessary steps to make that happen, already providing 2,600 additional beds and 750 more support staff for the most vulnerable people in our society.

But we must keep up the momentum and that’s why we are giving this funding to areas and projects that need it, ensuring progress continues to be made and people are given the help they need to turn their lives around.

This is all part of the government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative, launched last spring, which is providing over £45 million to councils over the next 2 years to support rough sleepers in their area off the streets and into secure accommodation where they can get the help they need to rebuild their lives.

Further information

In August 2018, the government unveiled its Rough Sleeping Strategy, which sets out the next steps towards achieving the aim of supporting everyone off the streets and into a home and to end rough sleeping for good, backed by £100 million of funding.

As outlined in the Rough Sleeping Strategy, the government has provided £45 million for the Rough Sleeping Initiative fund.

This consists of £34 million for the 83 authorities with the highest number of rough sleepers and a further £12 million set aside for spending on other areas and projects in the 2019-20 year.

The additional £1 million will be funded from within existing budgets.

See the Rough Sleeping Initiative funding allocations (PDF, 171 KB, 6 pages)

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Updates to this page

Published 25 March 2019

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