Today (29 October) the Ministry for Housing, Local Communities and Local Government has announced how it will distribute £150m pledged to provide homes for people who had previously been rough sleeping.
Across England 276 schemes have been approved, including 38 in London, where 904 new homes for people who had been sleeping on the streets will be provided; with the Government aiming to provide more than 3,330 new homes in total.
The money is from the £433m programme which was announced earlier in the year and is set to deliver 6,000 new homes with support for people who have slept rough over the next four years.
Outside London, 238 councils have received approval to move to the next phase of development which involves providing 2,430 new homes, with the accommodation being made available before March 2021.
St Mungo’s will be working in partnership to develop a number of these projects.
Reacting to the news, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s Steve Douglas CBE said: “The ‘Everyone In’ initiative showed just what can be achieved when we work together, and it certainly saved lives.
“And it is encouraging to see its achievements being built on in the Next Steps and Rough Sleeping Accommodation programmes which will provide secure accommodation and wrap around support.
“The confirmation of this funding will enable the delivery of much-needed housing and support for those sleeping on the streets and is a welcome and important step forward.
“We will continue to work with our partners in central and local Government, and with the Greater London Authority to ensure we find long-term sustainable solutions which will help us reach our shared goal of ending rough sleeping, and also stemming the flow of those sleeping on the streets in the first place”.
Today’ announcement follows the news that the Government has allocated £12m to help protect people rough sleeping or at risk over homelessness this winter which was made early this month.
More self-contained accommodation will be needed over the coming months due to the increased risk of Covid-19 outbreaks in communal night shelters.
