Jenrick launches £266 million housing fund for vulnerable people

From today (18 July 2020), councils and their local partners can apply for funds from the government’s Next Steps Accommodation Programme to cover property costs and support new tenancies for around 15,000 vulnerable people who were provided with emergency accommodation during the pandemic.

This programme now takes total government support for homelessness and rough sleepers to over half a billion pounds. This will help ensure as few people as possible helped off the streets and into accommodation during the pandemic return to sleeping rough and help to break the cycle of homelessness for good.

A total of £105 million is now available to ensure interim accommodation and support continues for those who need it and can be used to help people move into the private rented sector, extend or secure alternative interim accommodation or where possible help people to reconnect with friends or family.

In addition, first wave funding, totalling £161 million, is also available to provide 3,300 additional supported homes this year for those currently housed in emergency accommodation. This is part of a total of £433 million to provide 6,000 long term, safe homes for those in need.

This funding is part of the response coordinated by Dame Louise Casey, who has been leading the COVID-19 Rough Sleeping Taskforce. Expert advisers will also be available to support local partners develop their plans for accommodation and related support services.

Last week official statistics showed that the combined efforts of central and local government, the NHS, charities and other partners to get people off the street and into safe accommodation has helped protect the most vulnerable in society and save lives.

Secretary of State for Housing Robert Jenrick MP said:

The remarkable national effort to support rough sleepers and vulnerable people during this crisis has protected many lives and I am hugely grateful to all those involved.

We now have a landmark opportunity to break the cycle of rough sleeping and ensure that people do not return to a life on the streets.

Today I am launching the funding to ensure that vulnerable people and rough sleepers continue to have a roof over their heads and are helped into longer term accommodation, enabling them to start to rebuild their lives.

Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Luke Hall MP said:

There has been a colossal effort from our councils, charities and partners to provide a protective shield for the most vulnerable during this pandemic.

Their efforts must not be in vain and today’s release of funding will make a huge difference by preventing thousands from returning to the streets with further support to allow them to rebuild their lives with a roof above their heads.

Further information

• Through the government’s Everyone In programme approximately 15,000 vulnerable people have been housed in hotels and other forms of emergency accommodation, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes people coming in directly from the streets, people previously housed in shared night shelters and people who have become vulnerable to rough sleeping during the pandemic.
• The Next Steps Accommodation Programme launched today makes available the resources needed to support local authorities and their partners to ensure that the current provision that has been set up to safeguard people who were taken safely from the streets is able to continue for an appropriate length of time. From today bids are invited for a share of £105 million to support this work. Organisations wishing to bid for the £105 million must clearly demonstrate in their proposal how the funding will be used to rapidly support those in COVID-19 emergency accommodation. The funding is for use during 2020/21 only.
• The Next Steps Accommodation Programme also makes funding available for additional long term accommodation. In May, the Secretary of State announced £161 million for 2020/21 (as part of an overall £433 million for the lifetime of this parliament) to deliver 3,300 units of longer-term, move-on accommodation. Organisations wishing to bid for the £161 million must clearly demonstrate in their proposal how the funding will be used to bring forward long-term, move-on accommodation.
• The Fund is open to bids from local authorities. The deadline for submitting bids is Thursday 20 August at 11:59pm.
• Full details of the bidding process for the fund is available at Next Steps Accommodation Programme: guidance and proposal templates.