Government brings forward and increases spending plans for provision of long-term supported housing for rough sleepers

Policy change in response to coronavirus pandemic aims to deliver more than 3,000 new supported housing units ‘within 12 months’, more than half of its four-year target

The government has announced that, in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is bringing forward and increasing its spending plans to provide more long-term supported housing for rough sleepers.  

While spending plans announced in Budget 2020 (at paragraph 2.63) included £381 million funding for up to 6,000 supported long-term housing units for rough sleepers over the current parliament, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced that -

• it is bringing forward spending 'to ensure' that 6,000 new housing units will be put into the system, with 3,300 of these becoming available in the next 12 months;
• £160 million will be used this year for capital spend and investment in housing, and for support services; and
• overall funding for the rough sleeping programme will increase from the £381 million set out in Budget 2020 to £433 million.

NB - the MHCLG says that the plans to support rough sleepers are being pulled together by the Rough Sleeping COVID-19 Response Taskforce, led by Dame Louise Casey.

Announcing the changes, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said -

‘We have offered accommodation to over 90 per cent of known rough sleepers in order to help them stay safe during the pandemic. This has been possible because of an incredible effort by the government, councils and charities. Thousands of lives have been protected as a result of the shared commitment to protect the most vulnerable in our society throughout this national emergency and we continue to fund this vital project.   

This government wants to end rough sleeping for good, and we now have a real opportunity to deliver on this moral mission. I’m backing this effort with £433 million to fast-track the longer-term and safe accommodation needed to ensure as few rough sleepers as possible return to the streets. This is an unprecedented commitment - the most ambitious of its kind and the single biggest injection of specialist accommodation since the rough sleepers initiative began. 

This will be completely transformative and changes the lives of thousands of rough sleepers for the better.’

For more information, see 6,000 new supported homes as part of landmark commitment to end rough sleeping from gov.uk