British Prime Minister Burnham to double spending on tackling homelessness — The Guardian
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to double spending on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping. In this week’s budget, the government is expected to allocate an additional £432 million, which, together with the previously allocated £442 million, will amount to nearly £900 million by the end of the current parliamentary term.
As The Guardian reports, the government intends by Christmas to offer every person sleeping rough in England a safe route off the streets or broader support. The first £442 million from the budgets of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is planned to be directed toward this issue by March 2027.
Programmes in cities
The campaign is already underway two months ahead of the set deadline. Specialist outreach teams are operating in Coventry, and new accommodation places have been created. In the coming weeks, additional accommodation capacity is also planned to be deployed in Plymouth and the London borough of Camden.
Burnham said that rough sleeping is not inevitable. According to him, the additional funding should provide people with support not only this winter but until the end of the parliamentary term. He also stressed that achieving the goal requires the involvement of businesses, charities and local authorities.
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Housing and other support
At a summit on Downing Street, representatives of businesses, charities, housing providers and local leaders are expected to discuss long-term changes. The National Housing Federation, together with housing associations, plans to identify at least 2,000 potential homes and places to stay, including vacant properties that can be brought back into use.
Virgin Media O2 has pledged to provide digital support to organisations working directly with homeless people. The charities St Mungo’s and Haircuts4Homeless, together with L’Oréal, plan to provide hairdressing and wellbeing services to people who have lived on the streets. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner called ending rough sleeping a major goal and said the government would work to address the root causes of homelessness.
The charity Shelter welcomed the announced funding. At the same time, Conservative shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch criticised the additional spending, saying Burnham had failed to solve the problem in Greater Manchester.
