GREATER Manchester's trailblazing work to prevent and end
homelessness will be given a boost from next year, under new
funding plans announced by the Government.
The city-region will receive a total of £47 million, allocated to
councils and to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
The funding announced yesterday (Wednesday 18 December) will
support the delivery of groundbreaking work across the
city-region to reduce and prevent homelessness and rough
sleeping.
Greater Manchester's new Integrated Settlement will mean that the
money can be prioritised based on local need, with more
flexibility on how it is used to support different programmes.
The investment will also help deliver Greater Manchester's
Housing First mission, based upon the principle that a good, safe
home is the foundation of everything in life.
It follows the announcement earlier this
month of £1 million in funding from the GMCA and national
Government to help people off the streets and into accommodation
this winter, and a further uplift to A Bed Every Night services
from next year.
From April, at least 600 bed spaces will be available every
night, together with the offer of personalised, wraparound
support and dedicated schemes tailored to the needs of women,
veterans, people who are LGBTQ+, people with pets, and others
experiencing multiple disadvantage.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy said:
“This investment from Government will put us on a strong footing
to drive forward our Housing First mission in 2025. It's a sign
of the Deputy Prime Minister's own commitment to this cause that
the package announced today puts a big focus on prevention,
backing the approach we've taken here in Greater Manchester.
“With our new Integrated Settlement, we will be able to focus
more than ever on the actions that will reduce and prevent
homelessness and rough sleeping, while still supporting those in
greatest need.
“From next year we want to press on with our plans to build
10,000 new truly affordable net zero homes, and in May we will be
launching the UK's first Good Landlord Charter – helping to
protect and empower tenants and improve standards across the
rented sectors. At the same time, I am personally committed to
expanding A Bed Every Night in 2025, so that we can provide
wraparound support to more people every single night, and this
funding will help us to do that.
“At every level we are working to tackle the root causes of this
crisis and bring it to an end. That means national and local
government working together, our partners across the system
pulling in one direction, and finally accepting that good, safe
housing must be a fundamental right in this country.”
Paul Dennett, City Mayor of Salford and Greater
Manchester Lead for Housing First, said:
“It's right that the Government is getting serious about the
crisis of housing and homelessness, after more than a decade of
budget pressures and inaction left councils and local services
struggling against a rising tide.
“We are proud of our track record in Greater Manchester. With our
forward-thinking approach and our strong partnerships, we have
managed to reduce the number of people sleeping rough while also
placing a necessary focus on prevention, addressing the systemic
issues that put people in that situation in the first place.
“The funding announced today will help drive forward that work
throughout 2025. The move away from sticking-plaster solutions to
an approach grounded in prevention is long overdue, and we
welcome the significant increases to the Homelessness Prevention
Grant for our councils.
“We cannot escape the fact that local teams remain under immense
pressure, both financially and operationally. The consequences of
failing to prevent homelessness are clear to see, not only in the
toll on families and communities but the cost to the public
purse, with councils here spending £74 million a year on renting
temporary accommodation.
“Across the country there is also a chronic shortage of social
and truly affordable housing. Enabling us to build that housing,
and to do it at net zero standards to keep bills down, will be a
big part of the solution to this problem.
“Systemic issues need a systemic response – and we're pleased to
see that the Government is prepared to face up not just to the
immediate challenge but to the issues at the heart of this
crisis.”