Government says it doesn’t recognise claims that it is winding up its support for rough sleepers helped off the streets during the COVID-19 pandemic

Any suggestion that the government is reneging on the commitment set out at the start of this national emergency is entirely wrong, says MHCLG

The government has said that it does not recognise clams that it is winding up its support for rough sleepers helped off the streets during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a report earlier today, the Manchester Evening News said that -

'Hundreds of homeless people who had been put up in hotels during the coronavirus pandemic must now be moved out after ministers quietly pulled the plug on the programme.

Civil servants have told Greater Manchester officials that the scheme - known as ‘Everyone In’ - is no longer being funded by central government and that March's original Covid guidance to local authorities has been scrapped.

... a leaked report to the region’s combined authority reveals the Ministry for Communities, Housing and Local Government has now ‘drawn a line’ under its programme and has told councils it will no longer be funded, although no ministerial statement has been made to that effect.'

However, in a blog post published to gov.uk this afternoon, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government press office has said -

'A story in the Manchester Evening News on Friday 15 May inaccurately suggests that the government is winding up its support for rough sleepers helped off the streets during the coronavirus pandemic. This is simply wrong.

We do not recognise the claims made by Greater Manchester Combined Authority in one of their internal reports which was leaked to the media.

Any suggestion that the government is reneging on the commitment set out at the start of this national emergency is entirely wrong. We have been clear councils should continue to provide safe accommodation for those who need it, and any suggestion that funding is being withdrawn or people asked to leave hotels by central government is entirely incorrect. This misleading information causes unneeded anxiety and confusion for vulnerable people at an already difficult time.'

For more information, see Response to Manchester Evening News story on support for rough sleepers from gov.uk