St Mungo’s has signed a joint open letter to the Chancellor, calling for an increase in funding for homelessness services to prevent frontline service closures.
The letter, signed by 32 homeless charities and shared with the i paper, urges Jeremy Hunt to increase funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services in line with inflation when he announces his Medium-Term Fiscal Statement at the end of this month.
The charities warn that “recent history” shows that cuts to public spending will lead to an increase in homelessness, with government figures showing a 168 percent rise in rough sleeping between 2010 and 2017, during the government’s austerity agenda.
The letter highlights that the rising cost of living will push more people into homelessness at a time when frontline services will be forced to scale back or close.
A recent poll of 77 homeless charities carried out by the membership body Homeless Link found that 92 per cent were worried the rising cost of living would affect their ability to maintain service and support standards. One in four services agreed the cost of living crisis risked service closures.
