Covid-19 Lockdown: Homelessness and Rough Sleepers
(Bristol West) (Lab)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Housing,
Communities and Local Government if he will make a statement on
his plans to prevent homelessness and protect rough sleepers
during the second national lockdown.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing,
Communities and Local Government ()
As we look ahead to the winter months, it is vital that we work
together to prevent increases in homelessness and rough sleeping.
The Government have set out unprecedented support on this issue,
dedicating over £700 million to tackling homelessness and rough
sleeping this year alone. Our work on rough sleeping has been
shown not only to be world leading but to have saved hundreds of
lives. We are dedicated to continuing to protect vulnerable
people in this period of restrictions and through the winter
months.
We used the summer to work with local authorities on individual
local plans for the coming months. Last week, the Prime Minister
announced the Protect programme—the next step in our ongoing,
targeted support for rough sleepers. That will provide a further
£15 million, ensuring that support is in place for areas that
need it most, and addressing the housing and health challenges
for rough sleepers during this period of national restrictions.
That is on top of the £10 million cold weather fund, available to
all councils to provide rough sleepers with safe accommodation
over the coming months. That means that all local areas will be
eligible for support this winter. It builds on the success of the
ongoing Everyone In campaign in September. We have successfully
supported over 29,000 people, with over 10,000 people in
emergency accommodation. Nearly 19,000 people have been provided
with settled accommodation or move-on support. We continue to
help to move people on from emergency accommodation with the Next
Steps accommodation programme.
On 17 September, we announced NSAP allocations to local
authorities, to pay for immediate support and to ensure that
people do not return to the streets, and £91.5 million was
allocated to 274 councils across England. On 29 October, we
announced allocations to local partners to deliver long-term
move-on accommodation. More than 3,300 new long-term homes for
rough sleepers across the country have been approved, subject to
due diligence, backed by more than £150 million. We are committed
to tackling homelessness, and firmly believe that no one should
be without a roof over their head.
Throughout the pandemic, we have established an unprecedented
package of support to protect renters, which remains in place.
That includes legislating through the Coronavirus Act 2020 on
delays as to when landlords can evict tenants and a six-month
stay on possession proceedings in court. We have quickly and
effectively introduced more than £9 billion of measures in
2020-21 that benefit those facing financial disruption during the
current situation. The measures include increasing universal and
working tax credit by £1,040 a year for 12 months and significant
investment in local housing allowance of nearly £1 billion. As
further support for renters this winter, we have asked bailiffs
not to carry out evictions during national restrictions in
England, except in the most serious of circumstances. As the
pandemic evolves, we will continue working closely with local
authorities, the sector and across Government to support the most
vulnerable from this pandemic. These measures further demonstrate
our commitment to assist the most vulnerable in society.
[V]
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. The
Minister’s words and the Prime Minister’s order last week to stay
home will ring hollow for people with no home. In March, the
Government told councils and charities that they should try to
bring rough sleepers in, and the extraordinary effort prevented
thousands of infections, more than 1,000 hospital admissions and
266 deaths. But now the Government’s rough sleeping tsar is no
longer in post and she has warned that we are facing a “perfect
storm of awfulness”. Many of those brought off the streets have
returned and thousands more are newly homeless, with a record
high 50% increase in young people sleeping rough since last year
in London alone.
What has changed since March? It is colder, and the cold weather
fund is lower than it was last year. So can the Minister tell the
House why the Government have lowered their ambition? Their plan
provides neither the leadership nor the funding to ensure all
rough sleepers have a covid-secure place; £15 million in funding
will be given not to all councils, but only to the 10 with the
highest rough sleeping rates. Seventeen health and homelessness
organisations wrote to the Prime Minister to warn against the use
of night shelters as not covid-safe. Why have the Government
refused to publish the Public Health England advice on this
decision? The plan makes no reference to people with no recourse
to public funds. Instead there is a rule change so that rough
sleeping will lead to deportation. Does the Minister agree that
it is immoral for people to be deported for sleeping rough?
On Armistice Day, will the Minister ensure that the Government
record whether homeless people have a service record, so that we
can get an accurate picture of the scale and need of those who
have served our country?
Finally, the homelessness crisis is the result of 10 years of
Tory failure, so will the Minister now commit to abolishing
section 21 evictions, as the Government said they would, to
prevent a further rise in homelessness, and invest in the support
and social housing we need so that we can genuinely end rough
sleeping for good?
I thank the hon. Lady for her questions. I hope she recognises,
and I think she did at the beginning, that this Government have
put £700 million into homelessness and rough sleeping support
this year alone. That is unprecedented support, and it is
decisive action that this Government took in dealing with the
covid crisis. Although I strongly object to the fact that many
have returned to the streets, we were working on this plan in the
summer with local authorities in order to work out what the next
steps would be after the Everyone In programme. As I outlined in
my opening answer, more than £266 million is being provided to
local authorities in order to provide move-on and next-step
accommodation, with more than £150 million of that invested in
long-term support and accommodation for rough sleepers.
To pick up on the point about the winter allowance being lower
than last year, this must be taken in the context of the
unprecedented amount of funding that the Government have provided
in this area, in order to protect those individuals who were at
threat of homelessness and rough sleeping throughout the
pandemic. Indeed, a £10 million winter fund is available to all
local authorities throughout the country, but it is right that
the £15 million fund that was announced last year—the Protect
programme—is focused on the areas in which there is the most
need. We are working intensively, not only with those first-wave
initial boroughs with the highest level of rough sleeping but in
collaboration with all local authorities throughout the United
Kingdom, in order to understand the challenges they face and the
needs they have.
On the point about no recourse to public funds, I would like to
make the hon. Lady aware that the rules of eligibility for
immigration status, including for those with no recourse to
public funds, has not changed. Local authorities are able to use
their judgment when assessing the support that can lawfully be
provided in relation to those individuals and their individual
needs: this is already happening, as it does with extreme weather
and where there is a potential risk to life. Local authorities
provide basic support for care needs that do not solely arise
from destitution, whether for migrants who have severe health
problems or for families where the wellbeing of children is
involved. Also, it is just not true that we are deporting
individuals who are rough sleeping.
I will also pick up on the point about veterans. I am very
pleased to be standing here on Armistice Day, and am pleased that
the hon. Lady has highlighted the plight of our veterans. Our
veterans play a vital role in keeping our country safe, and we
are committed to ensuring that we are able to provide them with
the support they need to adjust back into civilian life. The duty
to refer in the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 states that
public authorities are required to, with individual consent,
refer
“former members of the regular armed forces”
to their local housing associations. There are a number of
support services available, including Veterans’ Gateway and
online, web and telephone resources for veterans, through which
they can access a housing specialist who has up-to-date
information on any vacancies that are available. In June of this
year, we announced new measures to ensure that access to social
housing is improved for members of our armed forces.
Mr Speaker, our Protect programme will protect vulnerable
individuals from the threat of rough sleeping during the
restriction process and into the winter, and tackle some of the
health issues they are experiencing.
(Cheadle) (Con) [V]
The Everyone In programme ensured that homeless people and rough
sleepers had a roof over their head during the pandemic, and I
welcome the Protect programme initiative. However, it is vital
that our solutions are also long-term and sustainable. I welcomed
the roll-out of the three-year Housing First pilot in Greater
Manchester, and the recent announcement of 3,300 units of move-on
accommodation for rough sleepers. Would my hon. Friend also
consider bringing forward future funding allocations so that
local authorities, mental health charities and agencies that are
able to offer wraparound support can have the certainty they need
to ensure the success of these initiatives?
I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the wraparound services
that organisations within local authorities provide to some of
those individuals who are experiencing complex issues, such as
substance misuse and mental health concerns. I am grateful that
she highlighted the Housing First pilot projects, and we are
encouraging and working with local authorities to get individuals
who need such support into that programme.
I will also work hard to make sure that we are able to develop
and work with local authorities to assist them to provide the
local services and wraparound support that those individuals
need. It is not just a home they need; they need the support
services around them, and I am determined to be able to do that.
(Glasgow East) (SNP)
I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Bristol West () on
securing this urgent question. This feels like groundhog day,
with the Government yet again in the spotlight for their decision
to withdraw prematurely the protections and support for the most
vulnerable people during a second wave of covid. In recent weeks,
they have had to U-turn on providing free school meals and on
extending furlough. I rather suspect that, quite soon, they will
have to U-turn on providing more support for people who have been
left homeless.
Thankfully, in Scotland, we have a Government with a bit more
foresight than this bungling British Government, who reek of
incompetence and chaos every single day. The SNP Government in
Scotland have extended the ban on evictions until March, and we
have committed to looking to extend that further to September if
the evidence shows a clear need. Will the Minister do likewise?
I am appalled by the reports that the British Government plan to
deport non-UK nationals who are sleeping rough. That is a totally
inhumane policy, devoid of any compassion and fairness, even by
this Conservative Government’s standards. Will they now urgently
reinstate the pause on asylum evictions so that communities and
individuals who we know are at greater risk of covid-19 are not
put at increased risk?
Finally, has the Minister’s Department ever received any advice
from Public Health England or, indeed, health directors about the
risks to black and minority ethnic people being left homeless? If
so, will she publish it? If not, why has she not commissioned it?
I respect the hon. Gentleman’s comments, but he is completely
incorrect in relation to this Government’s ongoing support for
rough sleepers during the pandemic. We carried out an
unprecedented and world-leading programme in Everyone In, we
worked with local authorities constructively and intensively to
develop programmes for the continuation of that support through
Next Steps and Move On, and we secured accommodation. This
Protect programme is the next step within that, and it is the
Government taking quick action for what is now required within
the restricted period and into the winter fund.
We announced the winter fund only a couple of weeks ago, and now
we are on the Protect programme, so it is absolutely incorrect
and completely wrong to suggest that this Government have not
been taking the issue seriously and have not put the resources
where they are needed. I have been determined over recent weeks,
as the Minister, to make sure we have local authority by local
authority checks on what is happening, looking at the local
interactions on the ground.
The hon. Member for Glasgow East () is categorically incorrect to say that we are
deporting EU nationals who are sleeping rough. That is not what
is happening, as he knows. In actual fact, we have been working
with local authorities on the support and offer they can give to
immigrants with no recourse to public funds at local level. Quite
rightly, my colleagues in the Home Office and I are working
through many issues that affect a number of different people.
I must also point out that all these individuals are different.
Every individual has specific needs, and it is right that we work
intensively with local authorities to make sure those individual
needs are considered.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
Order. We have a lot of people who need to get in, and we have
spent 15 minutes on the first three questions. We need to pick it
up.
(Rugby)
(Con)
I welcome the measures and the very significant funding that the
Minister has announced today. Does she agree that it is important
to take the same kind of approach as that taken by Rugby Borough
Council through its preventing homelessness and improving lives
programme? That has made a tremendous difference to local
families at risk of homelessness through early intervention by a
dedicated support team, working with those who are vulnerable to
prepare a plan to avoid a crisis situation later.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: it is by the good practice of
councils such as Rugby Borough Council and programmes of that
nature that they are able to work with those families and
individuals before there is a need for them to sleep rough or
become homeless—it is prevention. We know that since we
implemented the Homelessness Reduction Act, that has had a
significant impact in many parts of the country. I am pleased
that we are determined and committed to make sure we implement
that even further and work with local authorities to get better
results.
(Sheffield South
East) (Lab) [V]
First, congratulations are due on the efforts that were made to
get rough sleepers off the streets from March onwards. Great work
was done by councils with voluntary organisations and with good
support financially from the Government as well. The real
pressure on councils now, I am told by my own city of Sheffield,
is from people presenting as homeless from the private rented
sector. An increase has led Sheffield City Council, which is very
good at dealing with these matters, to have 80 families now in
hotels and another 200 in temporary accommodation. That will cost
the council around £500,000 extra in this financial year. If
dealing with homelessness has to be a priority for councils,
which certainly it should be, will the Minister make it a
priority for Government to make sure that councils have the extra
resources they need directly to continue delivering the services
that people in the private rented sector will need in the coming,
very trying months?
I thank the hon. Member for his comments and articulation of the
work that has been done by the Government and many local
authorities and the voluntary and charitable sector in the
covid-19 pandemic. He is absolutely right that we need to monitor
and make sure we are working intensively with local authorities
to understand the needs and the challenges. That is why we are
working with local authorities to provide plans, that is why we
have put in the Next Steps funding, to provide that Move On and
Next Steps accommodation support. We will continue that work
through the winter and evaluate any impacts that we are seeing
through the covid pandemic. We need to bear in mind that we have
also provided councils with over £6 billion in funding to deal
with some of the issues that are coming out of the covid
pandemic.
(Harrow East)
(Con) [V]
I congratulate my hon. Friend on her appointment and on attending
the all-party parliamentary group for ending homelessness within
days and answering our questions. I also congratulate the
Government on a brilliant job in pulling rough sleepers off the
streets and putting them into secure accommodation. As my hon.
Friend rightly says, the problem now is that every case of
homelessness is a unique one. Many people who have been rough
sleeping have physical and mental health problems, and they are
also probably addicted to drink, drugs or other substances, so it
is vital that we roll out the Housing First initiative from the
pilot sites throughout the country and also fully fund my
Homelessness Reduction Act when the funding for it comes to an
end. Will she therefore commit to rolling out Housing First
across the country and to ensuring that local authorities are
fully funded for their duties under my Act?
I thank my hon. Friend for his comments and it was a pleasure to
attend the APPG. I also thank him for his work in this area, for
which he is a passionate advocate. Housing First is a great
pilot, and we have continued to make sure that we can get
individuals through those schemes, even during the pandemic. We
are working with those sites to make sure that we can maximise
that funding and that pilot to get the data and information. I am
very supportive of the Housing First programme, and I would very
much like to extend it. That is something that we will be working
on in Government. I am committed to making sure that the
Homelessness Reduction Act is implemented fully, and we will have
further discussions about the funding to be able to deliver on
that.
(Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)
A street homelessness reduction programme is not world leading if
the numbers sleeping rough on our streets are rising. It is
shocking that the number of young people sleeping rough on our
streets is now at a record high. What will the Minister do to
ensure that homelessness prevention services offer appropriate
support to young people with particular needs, such as young
prison leavers?
I refute the assumption that rough sleeping numbers are
increasing because of the action taken during the pandemic. If we
look at the snapshot, we see that in actual fact at September
there was a significant reduction in rough sleeping compared with
last year. We have been working hard with local authorities in
order that everyone who had been brought on to the Everyone In
scheme has stayed in emergency accommodation or moved on to Next
Steps accommodation. We are working hard to make sure that those
numbers are reducing.
The hon. Lady makes an incredibly important point about young
people, their particular needs and the threat of becoming
homeless. I am working with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice
on how we can further support offenders. I have a particular
interest in young people and care leavers, and we are
investigating what other measures we can put in place to support
them when they are at threat of homelessness.
(Gedling) (Con)
I welcome the Government’s commitment to £311,000 for the borough
of Gedling for local secure-accommodation schemes for people at
risk of sleeping on the street. Does my hon. Friend agree that
this funding is a significant step forward towards fulfilling our
manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by 2024? Will she join
me in thanking all those in Gedling who have worked so hard to
get vulnerable people into safe, secure accommodation?
I thank my hon. Friend for his comment and pay tribute to those
not only in his constituency but throughout the country who are
working and have worked incredibly hard over the summer and
through the pandemic to make sure that those individuals have had
the help and support they require. He is absolutely right that
this funding is part of our next steps to reach our target and
make sure that we tackle some of the issues and develop the
accommodation to house some of the most vulnerable in our
society.
(Vauxhall)
(Lab/Co-op)
I am sure the Minister would agree that a number of homelessness
charities have warned that tens of thousands of young people have
been made homeless since the start of the pandemic. Many of these
young people work in hospitality, so they have not had a job for
many months. They are struggling to support themselves
financially and make up the bulk of people in insecure
accommodation. The Government’s decision to bring forward the
eviction ban was welcome, but it is not working, so will the
Minister outline what steps the Government will take to ensure
that the ban is properly enforced? The Minister said she would
work with bailiffs to stop the evictions, but the reality on the
ground is that that is not happening. What concrete steps will
there be to protect people from enforcement?
The hon. Lady highlights the plight of young people and the
particular challenges that they face during the pandemic because
of the types of work and sectors they are involved in. It is true
that we have placed a ban on evictions and, before the
announcement of the restrictions for this month, evictions were
not taking place in areas in tier 3. That is obviously the case
for this month, and we are also saying that no evictions should
be taking place from 11 December into January. We are working
with our colleagues in the MOJ, but I must highlight the fact
that we have given a six-month stay on those proceedings and only
the most egregious cases will be taken forward. We will keep that
under review, as the House would imagine, and make sure that we
monitor it. If the hon. Lady is referring to particular
circumstances, I would be interested to see the detail and I will
happily communicate with her directly in respect of any
individual circumstances.
(North West Durham) (Con)
May I congratulate my hon. Friend on her appointment? The
Rochester by-election feels like a lifetime ago.
The Government have a golden opportunity, having supported 29,000
people this year, to achieve their ambition of ending rough
sleeping by the end of the Parliament. Will my hon. Friend commit
to ensuring not only that those who have been helped will
continue to get support, but that anyone at risk in the coming
months will have the support that they need?
I thank my hon. Friend for what he has said and it is a pleasure
to be answering his question. He is absolutely right. Throughout
the pandemic, we have been working with local authorities on an
individual basis to understand the needs and challenges that are
driving homelessness within those areas. I am committed to doing
exactly that to make sure that we understand all those individual
circumstances that are creating demands in different parts of the
country. We are developing practices and policies to ensure that
we can reach our commitment of ending rough sleeping by the end
of this Parliament and of significantly reducing it.
(Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Simply asking bailiffs not to physically remove desperate people
who cannot afford to pay their rent until 11 January will not
allow the Secretary of State to keep his promise that no one will
lose their home due to a drop in income because of covid. How he
could keep that promise would be, for example, to raise local
housing allowance so that nobody finds that it is less than the
rent they owe. Given that a third of those who are excluded are
also private renters, he could also make sure that those people
who have been excluded from financial support since March are no
longer excluded and are given the support they need. Finally,
given that the Government are in the mood for rushing through
legislation, why do they not keep their manifesto promise and
scrap section 21 evictions, and do it now?
The hon. Gentleman raises an important point, but, as I have
outlined, we have asked bailiffs to pause evictions over the
Christmas period and that is something that we will monitor and
keep under review. It is absolutely right that we have taken this
action, and the Secretary of State took it quickly and swiftly.
We are still committed to abolishing section 21, but legislation
must be balanced and considered to achieve the right outcomes for
the sector, and we will keep those under review. The Government
will continue to take decisive action, as they have done at all
stages of the pandemic, and as I have done today in outlining our
Protect programme.
(Burnley) (Con)
Our veterans have given so much in the service of this country
and it is vital that we ensure that not a single one ends up on
the streets. Will the Minister therefore reassure me and my
constituents who care deeply about this that veterans continue to
have priority need to keep them off the streets and that the
funding provided by this Government means that if someone finds
themselves in hard times this winter, local authorities have not
only the duty, but the resources to give them the home that they
deserve?
My hon. Friend is right to highlight again the vital role that
our veterans have played in keeping this country safe. I am sure
that everyone across this House feels, as I do, a great sadness
and deep concern for those veterans who face hard times and are
in very difficult circumstances. They have priority when it comes
to the reduction of homelessness and will continue to do so. We
will continue to work with our colleagues in the Ministry of
Defence to ensure that those veterans can get access to the
support and services that they need to continue with their lives.
(Luton South) (Lab)
The Children’s Commissioner has raised concern about the almost
130,000 children in England who spent the first lockdown in
temporary accommodation, where poor conditions made it difficult
to study, play and self-isolate. Why does the Minister think that
there has been a 78% increase in homeless children since 2010?
The hon. Lady asks about families and children in temporary
accommodation. I, too, have concerns about any families and young
people having to live their lives in temporary accommodation. As
I have outlined, that is why this Government are investing in the
Move On programme and the Next Steps accommodation programme. We
are also committed to investing long-term in our housebuilding
programme, and in affordable and social rented homes. I totally
understand the pressures and challenges for young people in
insecure homes, and it is something that this Government and I
are determined to resolve.
(Gainsborough) (Con)
On a recent visit to YMCA Lincolnshire in Gainsborough, I was
briefed on the excellent work done for homeless people in Lincoln
at the charity’s Nomad Centre. But when I talked to the chief
executive this morning, she told me that her main worry is not so
much the level of Government support, but whether it is trickling
down from local government to charities quickly enough. That
leads me to a wider point, which I suppose is also a Conservative
one: in a pandemic we always think that the state can do
everything, but we should really be empowering and supporting
charities.
We are working with local authorities to ensure that the support
is trickling down to exactly where it is needed. We are working
intensively with local authorities on plans for how that money
will be spent, and on the impact on the ground. If my right hon.
Friend has any further details, I will happily take up this
issue. Indeed, if any Member across the House has any particular
local issues, I will take them up and investigate further. It is
true that this Government have taken unprecedented action to
tackle rough sleeping and homelessness during the pandemic, and I
remain committed to continuing that work.
(Liverpool, West Derby) (Lab) [V]
After speaking with ACORN Liverpool and local volunteers such as
Councillor Sarah Morton who are out on the ground every night in
Liverpool helping the homeless, I would like to ask about one of
their many concerns right now. The enforced evictions guidance
has no basis in law. It does not protect against bailiffs,
despite the Government saying that they have asked bailiffs to
hold fire, and people are living in fear of eviction during this
lockdown. The only way to ban evictions is through legislation,
as with the ban between March and September. Will the Minister
commit to such legislation and consider increasing funding for
local authority discretionary housing payments, which are a vital
resource in supporting early intervention and preventing
homelessness?
The Government have invested heavily in support for homelessness,
particularly through the rough sleeping initiative. Liverpool is
part of Housing First, which is one of the pilot projects to help
rough sleepers, who have multiple complex needs. I hope that the
numbers of people moving into that pilot will soon increase in
Liverpool. The hon. Gentleman mentions an important point about
evictions. It is true that there is a six-month stay on
possession proceedings in court to 30 September, and that only
the most egregious cases will be taken forward, such as those
involving antisocial behaviour and crime. We are committed to
that and have made it clear that we do not expect any evictions
to take place. If we need to take further action, I am sure that
we will find the tools to do so.
(West Dorset) (Con)
Is it not just so sad when we see homelessness and rough sleeping
on our streets? One reason that I was so proud to stand as a
Conservative party candidate at the last general election was our
commitment to eradicate rough sleeping by the end of this
Parliament. Homelessness is often seen as an urban issue, but it
is very much a rural one as well. Conservative-led Dorset Council
has reduced rough sleeping, though, by 39% up until 2019. I
suggest to the shadow Secretary of State that maybe she asks the
same questions of her own Labour-run Bristol City Council, where
homelessness has increased by 20%—
Mr Speaker
Order. First, the question is too long. Secondly, it is not for
the Opposition to answer the questions; it is for the Minister.
Don’t take the Minister’s job away—it is not fair to her.
You will have to excuse me, Mr Speaker; I fell down the stairs
yesterday, so I am struggling to do the bobbing up and down.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I would like to praise the
work of Dorset Council, which has been able to continue to reduce
rough sleeping. We hope that we will be able to share information
with colleagues in other areas to ensure that, where there is
great practice and local authorities are taking great steps to
reduce rough sleeping and homelessness, the lessons are learned
throughout the country. We learnt a lot through the Everyone In
programme, and I hope that those lessons will help us to develop
policies.
(East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)
[V]
As chair of the all-party parliamentary dog advisory welfare
group, I have been contacted by Dogs on the Streets, an excellent
charity that cares for homeless people who have dogs and are
sleeping on the streets. The charity tells me that it is often
very difficult for homeless people who are sleeping rough to be
admitted into accommodation if they have a pet, particularly a
dog. Will the Minister meet me and Dogs on the Streets to talk
about the available options? Pets are often a lifeline for
people, and we must be extremely compassionate and ensure that
those who are compassionate to pets are not left behind on the
streets.
I will happily meet the hon. Lady to discuss that. She has
highlighted an issue that affects not only people sleeping rough
but those who are at threat of being made homeless. It transcends
the two categories, so I would be happy to discuss it further.
(Wakefield) (Con)
In December 2019, a report outlined that 216 individuals were
being housed in short-term shelters in the Wakefield district.
Prior to covid, homelessness and rough sleeping in the district
had risen sharply, raising concerns about the safety and
wellbeing of those who suffer this plight. What steps is my hon.
Friend taking to increase the number of homes available for
people who are currently homeless as part of the Government’s
ambition to end rough sleeping by 2024?
The Government are investing more than £150 million in permanent
accommodation, delivering 3,300 units, to give an asset to the
country that will provide properties for individuals who are
sleeping rough and who are then able to come into the system.
That is an amazing step forward. It is the biggest investment in
this kind of housing since the early ’90s, and I thank my hon.
Friend for allowing me to make that point.
(Rochdale) (Lab) [V]
The Home Office immigration rules published on 22 October make it
crystal clear that among the reasons that would normally lead to
a refusal of leave to remain in the United Kingdom is failure by
the person to accommodate themselves or their dependants without
recourse to public funds. Any provision of accommodation for the
homeless would be recourse to public funds. My question for the
Minister is very simple: what is the advice—be kicked out by the
Home Office or freeze on the streets?
As I have already outlined, those who have no recourse to public
funds do work with local authorities. Local authorities already
assess those individuals who are in need and make decisions on
whether they can lawfully provide support within that area and
for those individuals’ needs. It is simply not true to say that
we will be removing individuals on the grounds that they are
sleeping rough. It is absolutely right that we continue to work
with that cohort, as well as with the charities and voluntary
organisations across the country that are working with those
individuals to establish pathways and provide help with regard to
the EU settlement scheme. That work will continue, and I am happy
to have further conversations with the hon. Gentleman about that.
(West Bromwich West) (Con)
I commend my hon. Friend for the work she has done in tackling
homelessness and rough sleeping, but it has been the west
midlands that has led the way in this fight, under the leadership
of our Mayor, , and his homelessness taskforce, which has seen
year-on-year decreases in the number of people rough sleeping.
Can she reaffirm that she will indeed work with the West Midlands
Combined Authority and our Mayor, , to ensure that the lessons they have learned during
this process can be carried through to Government, so that we can
finally, once and for all, fulfil that manifesto commitment and
end rough sleeping?
I thank my hon. Friend and, yes, I totally will. I have already
met to discuss the issues within the area. I am very
grateful for the work that he and others have been leading, such
as Jean Templeton from Saint Basils, who has been doing a
tremendous job up there, and for the leadership of young people
in that area. I look forward to continuing to work with all parts
of the country to achieve this ambition.
(Ilford
South) (Lab)
In 2019, one in 46 people in Redbridge, which Ilford South is
part of, were homeless. That is a shocking statistic. While
recent funding is obviously very welcome, I wonder if we can have
a situation where I do not have to walk outside Ilford Exchange
or outside my constituency office and see once again the many
cardboard cities, which so miraculously disappeared, literally in
a week, once the Government decided to act and house those
homeless people and rough sleepers. Could the Minister ensure
that, once lockdown ends, they will uphold their commitment to
permanently ending rough sleeping?
Actually, I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue in his
constituency. It is true, and I am sure I speak for everyone
across the House, that every one of us really feels sadness and
regret when we see any individual sleeping rough in a tent, a box
or whatever. It is just not satisfactory. That is why this
Government have committed to ending rough sleeping, and why we
have put in this unprecedented level of support to achieve that
goal. My challenge is to keep working with those local
authorities to deliver on that promise.
(Buckingham) (Con)
I welcome the funding that my hon. Friend has outlined for
councils, including over £1.6 million for Buckinghamshire Council
to provide accommodation for people at risk of rough sleeping.
Can she confirm how many additional such homes the Government
intend to fund by the end of this Parliament?
I thank my hon. Friend and I am glad that we were able to
allocate funding to Buckinghamshire to deliver on those
programmes. At the moment—this is our first tranche, obviously—we
are delivering 3,300 homes by the end of March 2021 and that is
within our commitment to deliver over 6,000. We will continue to
work, as I keep repeating—I am sorry, Mr Speaker—with local
authorities, because we have to be very clear that each
individual area is very different. The drivers, challenges and
needs in those areas are so different, as are the needs of the
individuals. It is so important that, when we are announcing
these things and making policy, we are making sure we are
delivering policy that does actually achieve the ambitions we
want to achieve.
(Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op) [V]
No one could accuse this Minister of being heartless or uncaring.
I know her to be a woman of great integrity. However, I would put
to her that her Government have been in power for a long time now
and we still have this real problem of poverty—family
poverty—stalking our land. The report by Anne Longfield, the
Children’s Commissioner, this morning shows the link between
homelessness, rough sleeping and the dreadful way we treat
children in care in this country. It is all joined up and there
are some common reasons, and I think her Government and her
Department should look at that too.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his very kind comments about me. I
always find him to be very compassionate as well. He makes a
valid point about the impact that homelessness and poverty can
have on young children and particularly children who are leaving
care. This is an area that I personally am very passionate
about—young people and care leavers. It is true to say that this
Government are working across Government. I am working with
colleagues across Departments in order to find solutions and
develop policies to tackle that and deliver on our ambition.
(Cities of London and Westminster) (Con)
I commend the Minister for the outstanding work she is doing in
her new portfolio. The Passage, a charity based in my
constituency working with her Department on the Home for Good
model, has seen many people being paired with a mentor in the
community that they have been resettled in. That has had great
success in sustaining tenancies and preventing a return to the
streets. Does she agree that it is investment in these types of
programmes for preventive work that makes lasting change in the
lives of people coming off the streets and that it should
continue to be supported?
I thank my hon. Friend for the work that she has done in this
area and the passion that she has in working with me and the
Department to tackle this issue. She is absolutely right. It is
so important that we are working with local authorities and that
money is going to organisations to develop programmes to help
with prevention, to deliver support and to provide the mentoring
that is so valuable. It is all very well for me as a Minister to
stand here today and say what we are doing, but people who have
had real-life experience and understand what the reality is are
able to impart that and then hold the hand of those individuals
who are affected as they navigate the system. That is so
invaluable.
(Ealing North) (Lab/Co-op) [V]
In a letter to the Secretary of State in June about rough
sleepers during covid-19, community organisations, faith leaders
and Ealing Council wrote:
“Without question, the hardest group to support under the current
framework is those with no recourse to public funds.”
The Secretary of State’s announcement last week made it clear
that the new Protect programme funding was there to ensure that
“everyone sleeping rough on our streets”
has
“somewhere safe to go”.
Could the Minister therefore confirm whether this funding can be
used to help those sleeping rough who have no recourse to public
funds?
The rules on eligibility to immigration status have not changed,
including those on no recourse to public funds. It is down to
local authorities to use their judgment in assessing the support
that they can lawfully give to the individuals. This does already
happen. We were very clear to local authorities in May that,
under Next Steps, they were to carry out individual assessments
of people who were rough sleeping and take decisions on who they
would provide support for. Part of that was providing
accommodation to vulnerable people.
Mr (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)
I welcome the Everyone In plan and last week’s announcement of
the £15 million Protect programme. This morning, I had the
opportunity to speak to the new chief executive of Dacorum
Borough Council, Claire Hamilton, and she too welcomes the
additional funding provided by this Government. However, the
concern she wants me to raise with the Minister is that, in
two-tier areas like mine, South West Hertfordshire, the money is
given to Hertfordshire County Council. Could she use her good
offices to ensure that the money is given to the frontline as
quickly as possible?
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I will use my position
to make sure that that money is being targeted at and provided in
the areas where it is actually needed. This funding and this
package is all about being able to target work intensively with
local authorities. This is an offer to all Members who have a
particular issue at a local level. I am always happy to take that
up with local authorities and to have further discussions on
their behalf.
(Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
I welcome the Minister to her post. I think she is the 12th
Minister in this position in the past decade. Her enthusiasm for
the efficacy of Government policy would be infectious but for the
detailed work on the Government’s housing policies we have been
doing on the Public Accounts Committee, which I commend to her.
We are talking a lot about rough sleeping today, but I have far
more families who are hidden homeless, or two households in one.
They are struggling through the pandemic. It is a public health
issue and it is damaging our children. Will she consider talking
to me and my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster North (Ms
Buck) about a housing market package to buy up hard-to-sell
properties in the private sector and provide these people and
rough sleepers with the Move On accommodation they so desperately
need?
I thank the hon. Lady for her question, and I am always happy to
meet her to discuss particular issues affecting her area and to
listen to ideas that Members think may or may not work in their
local setting, but I have to reiterate that London has had
significant support with the Next Steps accommodation. The exact
focus of that is to move those individuals out of temporary
emergency accommodation and into longer-term stability and
pathways, delivering that security that those individuals and
families need. I will happily meet her to discuss that further.
(Stourbridge) (Con)
I start by thanking this Government, who have supported 29,000
people who have been rough sleeping this year alone. I have only
a handful of rough sleepers in my constituency—a handful too
many—but I thank the Government for finding secure accommodation
for them during the pandemic, helping to protect lives and
prevent the spread of the virus. Will my hon. Friend join me in
thanking local charities in my Stourbridge constituency such as
Leslie’s Care Packages, which works tirelessly to ensure that
rough sleepers have the support they need?
I thank my hon. Friend, and I happily pass on my thanks to the
charities and the organisation in her constituency, Leslie’s Care
Packages, for the work they have been doing throughout the
pandemic. Again, I extend my thanks to all in the charitable
sector and the voluntary sector, who have done such a lot of work
in this area, working constructively with the Government and
local authorities to ensure that we are targeting support to
those individuals who need the help the most.
(Coventry South) (Lab) [V]
In the spring, the Everyone In programme showed that where there
is the political will, it is possible to take action to provide
shelter for people who need it, but that should not be done only
in emergencies; it should be done all year round, guaranteeing
safe and warm shelter to everyone who needs it, including those
with no recourse to public funds. Rather than wasting hundreds of
millions of pounds on covid contracts for friends and family of
the Conservative party, will the Government instead provide
permanent funding to end homelessness for good?
The hon. Lady will know that part of our follow-on from the
Everyone In programme—it is still ongoing and has not stopped—is
the Next Steps funding, which delivers exactly what she is
asking. It is providing not only funding for local authorities to
deliver that next stage, Move On accommodation, but £150 million
of investment in permanent accommodation—the largest investment
in delivering homes in this area since the ’90s.
(Truro and
Falmouth) (Con)
In Cornwall, homelessness and rough sleeping has historically
been an issue. In recent years, some excellent work has been done
in Cornwall to combat the issue by St Petrocs and by the local
authority, particularly with the success of the recent Pydar Pop
UP project in Truro. Of course more needs to be done, and I
welcome the £5.5 million that the Government have provided to
Cornwall Council since September to tackle homelessness and rough
sleeping. It is a substantial amount of money that creates a real
opportunity to end rough sleeping in Cornwall. However, does my
hon. Friend agree that that money needs to be spent on long-term
solutions to find homes for those who are homeless and rough
sleeping, not just on the short term and quick fixes?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The investment we are making
as a Government in long-term secure homes is so important. That
is what the Secretary of State and I are driving to achieve,
within the realms of the funding, and we are seeing delivery
across the country. We are committed to working with local
authorities, including Cornwall, to understand the specific
challenges. As I have said, every area is slightly different and
sometimes there is a different solution for every area. We have
to understand those things so that we can work effectively with
the local authorities so that they can deliver that change and we
can achieve our objectives.
