Responding to the publication of the Kerslake Commission on
Homelessness and Rough Sleeping’s interim report on the Everyone
In initiative, Cllr James Jamieson, Chairman of the Local
Government Association, said:
“The success of councils in getting thousands of people
sleeping rough off the streets during the pandemic is testament
to local and central government working together to transform
people’s lives for the better.
“The funding provided by government throughout the COVID-19
crisis has been crucial in enabling councils to tackle rough
sleeping and get people into safe, suitable and Covid-secure
accommodation.
“However, as this important report says, it is now vital
that we ensure this is not a one-off emergency response, and that
we build on this and embrace the opportunity to make this the new
normal and end rough sleeping altogether.
“It is really important that as a society we are able to
support those who are vulnerable. This will only succeed with
sector-wide working at a local level, in particular including
health, housing associations and the voluntary sector.
“We want to work closely with government on a
cross-departmental homelessness prevention strategy, which sees
councils supported with long-term funding to prevent homelessness
from happening in the first place, with the changes to welfare
benefits introduced following the coronavirus outbreak maintained
for as long as they are needed.”
