On his first day in Downing Street, Andy made a pledge to end rough sleeping for good. Less than 100 days later, I’m proud to see this Labour government doubling down on this pledge with a significant injection of funding.
In August, the Prime Minister set aside £442 million to offer everyone who needs it a route off the streets by Christmas, which is already delivering on the ground with specialist outreach and accommodation.
Today, he’s gone further, with an additional £432 million committed to ensure people sleeping rough have a route off the streets beyond this winter. This means that there will be more funding available to break the cycle, tackle the root causes of homelessness, and begin to end sleeping on the streets of Southampton – not just this Christmas, but for the years to come.
This comes after Housing Secretary Angela Rayner recently announced plans to give English councils new powers to refer homeless households directly to housing associations and registered providers. Housing associations in England will be told they cannot decline to house homeless families without good reason. She also announced plans to give local councils 60 days to bid to buy social
homes when they go on the market, as well as compelling public services to refer people at risk of homelessness for housing support.