Councils across the country are set to receive a share of over
£215 million from 2019 to prevent homelessness, Homelessness
Minister confirmed today (22 March
2018). This includes a £15 million fund for London councils to
support their work together to prevent and reduce homelessness.
This latest funding – the third round from the
government’s Flexible Homelessness Support Grant
programme – brings the total government investment to
tackle homelessness and rough sleeping to over £1.2 billion
through to 2020.
Homelessness Minister said:
This government is determined to help the most vulnerable in
our society and to break the homelessness cycle once and for
all. That why we’re investing over £1.2 billion in tackling the
issue and bringing in the most ambitious legislation in decades
that will mean people get the support they need earlier.
This latest funding gives councils the freedom to invest in
homelessness services that work in their area, including
support to prevent someone becoming homeless in the first
place.
Today’s announcement comes ahead of the Homelessness Reduction
Act which comes into force next month to significantly reform
England’s legislation and ensure that more people get the help
they need when they’re faced with homelessness.
It forms part of the government’s comprehensive approach to
reducing homelessness, giving early support to those at risk of
losing their homes.
In addition to total of £617 million in Flexible Homelessness
Support Grant funding and implementing the Homelessness Reduction
Act, the government is taking significant action to tackle
homelessness and rough sleeping through:
-
a new cross-government Homelessness Reduction Taskforce
supported by a panel of experts that will drive forward a new
strategy to reduce homelessness with an initial focus on
rough sleeping
-
£28 million funding for 3 ‘Housing First’ pilots in
Manchester, Liverpool and the West Midlands to support
long-term rough sleepers off the streets. Individuals will be
provided with stable, affordable accommodation and intensive
wrap-around support. This will to help them recover from
complex health issues, for example substance abuse and mental
health difficulties and sustain their tenancies
-
investing £9 billion to build more affordable housing,
including council homes
-
supporting Housing Benefit and Universal Credit claimants
living in areas where private rents have been rising fastest,
the government will increase some Local Housing Allowance
rates by increasing Targeted Affordability Funding by £40
million in 2018 to 2019 and £85 million in 2019 to 2020. This
will increase the housing benefit awards of approximately
140,000 claimants in 2018 to 2019, by an average of £280, in
areas where affordability pressures are greatest.
In April 2017, the government replaced the tightly controlled
Department for Work and Pension’s Temporary Accommodation
Management Fee (TAMF). This payment could only be used for
expensive intervention when a household was already homeless,
rather than on preventing it happening in the first place. The
new grant empowers councils to act more strategically to support
the full range of homelessness services, including preventing
families from losing their homes in the first place.
The first and second year
allocations from the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant, a
combined total of £402 million, were announced on 15 March 2017.
Read more about the Homelessness Reduction
Act that comes into effect on 3 April 2018.
