Rough sleepers will receive further support after the Government
set out plans to fund 83 areas with the highest numbers of people
at risk over the next two years.
Following on from the launch of its Rough Sleeping Strategy last
month, the Government has today announced provisional allocations
of a £34m fund to provide local support for those living on the
streets.
Councils across England with the highest numbers of rough
sleepers will receive a share of the funding to back on-going
initiatives in their area, such as dedicated support teams and
securing additional bed spaces.
It will be allocated for council spending over the next two years
and is an extension of the £30m that we provided to councils in
June through our Rough Sleeping Initiative Fund.
Among the projects benefitting from the initial £30m are;
- Sheffield – allocated £363k to expand ‘housing led’ services
and increased emergency accommodation provision. The fund also
provided a specialist support worker to assist a 64-year-old with
mobility and addiction problems from sleeping rough to settle
into permanent accommodation.
- Thanet – allocated £367k to fund a rough sleeping
coordinator, mental health specialist outreach worker and
substance misuse worker. The council now undertakes regular
multi-agency case management meeting reviews of rough sleepers
with complex needs and provides individual care plans.
- Bournemouth – allocated £387k to employ a dedicated rough
sleeping coordinator, four specialised outreach workers focused
on engagement with those on the streets, specialised
psychological support to enable work with those who have
experienced complex trauma and an initiative to help increase
access to private rented sector for those seeking accommodation.
Communities Secretary, Rt Hon MP said:
“Our Rough Sleeping Strategy set out the blueprint to end rough
sleeping by 2027. Now, we are vigorously taking the steps to make
that happen.
“The funding through our Rough Sleeping Initiative is already
making a real difference in helping support those off the streets
into services and accommodation this year.
“But there is still work to do and that’s why we are supporting
these areas with further funding to ensure progress continues to
be made and vulnerable people are supported into services and
accommodation.”
The Government’s expert Rough Sleeping Initiative Team has
closely monitored the progress of the schemes developed from the
first £30 million.
Alongside the £34 million allocated today, the Government has set
aside a further £11m for spending on additional areas and
projects to those supported by the Rough Sleeping Initiative and
will announce further details in due course.
Notes to Editors
- As outlined in our Rough Sleeping Strategy, Government will
provide £45m into the Rough Sleeping Initiative Fund.
- The provisional £34m allocated towards the 83 authorities
today will be for spending in the 2019-20 year. Finalised
allocations will be dependent on progress in delivering
programmes and services. These will be announced in due course.
- If an authority has not fully spent their 2018-19 allocation,
we will subtract the unspent amount from the 2019-20 allocation.
- In addition
to funding from the Rough Sleeping Initiative in 2019-20,
elements of local authorities’ original proposals, including
those from London authorities, may be taken forward as part of
the work resulting from the Rough Sleeping Strategy.
