A new report from the Public Accounts Committee has
highlighted how the ‘Everyone In’ scheme, which saw over 37,000
people experiencing homelessness given emergency accommodation to
keep them safe during the pandemic, has exposed the true extent
of rough sleeping prior to the outbreak.
The report finds that the number of people helped
under the ‘Everyone In’ scheme is nearly nine times MHCLG’S last
official estimate of people sleeping rough – and that the
Government has still not set out a plan for achieving its
manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by May
2024.
The report’s recommendations to MHCLG
include:
-
The Department must, before summer recess, publish
at least a draft strategy for how it will achieve its goal of
ending rough sleeping by 2024.
-
The Department must ensure it continues to publish
its monthly data on numbers of people sleeping rough. Drawing
on this information, it should report back to this Committee on
a quarterly basis on its performance against its target for
ending rough sleeping.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis,
said: “Let’s be clear, homelessness has always been a
risk to life and it shouldn’t have taken a pandemic for this to
be fully recognised.
“It’s critical that the immediate response to
coronavirus translates into long-term, systemic change. We need
to see a clear strategy from Government setting out how this will
happen, including a plan to ensure everyone who is rough sleeping
will be supported to find somewhere permanent to
live.
“The efforts over the last year to keep people
sleeping rough safe during this public health crisis have been
nothing short of remarkable. While it’s great to see today’s
report reflect this, it’s clear there is still a long way to go
before the Westminster Government meets its commitment to end
rough sleeping.”
