Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a major change to rough sleeping as the government is "doubling funding". In an update published on Sunday (October 25), the Prime Minister set out confidence that everyone sleeping rough will be offered a route off the street before Christmas.
He announced a further £432 million will be released to help deliver support for years to come. The additional funding, to be set out at the Budget later this week, reflects the Prime Minister's determination to make tackling rough sleeping a national priority.
Funding extended to end of Parliament
It will extend support beyond March 2027 and through to the end of this Parliament, taking total investment behind his commitment to £874 million.
It marks the next stage of the pledge the Prime Minister made to stop accepting rough sleeping as a fact of life and unite the country behind a mission to end it.
Prime Minister's message
Mr Burnham said: "Rough sleeping isn't a fact of life. It's a thing governments either choose to accept or don't. Well I don't accept it."
"That's why we're doubling funding so that people aren't just offered a safe route off the streets this winter but have that same support right through the rest of this Parliament too."
"But we can't do it alone. If we're going to end rough sleeping, we need every part of society behind us on this. So today we're bringing together businesses, charities and local leaders in Downing Street to make sure this is a solution that lasts."
Rough Sleeping Summit commitments
Mr Burnham hosted the first ever Rough Sleeping Summit at Downing Street on Sunday. Organisations who attended the summit are making significant new commitments.
The National Housing Federation will work with housing associations to identify at least 2,000 potential homes and bedspaces, including empty properties that could be brought back into use. Virgin Media O2 will provide practical digital support to frontline organisations, while L'Oréal Group will launch a pioneering Social Salon partnership with St Mungo's and Haircuts4Homeless.
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey said: "No one should ever have to sleep rough, which is why we are doubling our investment to more people and providing a chance to break the cycle and end sleeping on the streets of our country – not just this Christmas, but for the years to come."
Secretary of State for Housing Angela Rayner said: "This is a big ambition – we know that. But we will not back down from making sure everyone has the offer of a route off the streets this Christmas."
"This summit is about bringing every part of society together behind that mission. Ending homelessness is not only a moral imperative – it will make our communities and our country better off."
"The first step is giving people a roof over their head and freedom from the nightly struggle to find somewhere safe to sleep. But Christmas is only the beginning and that's why we will keep working together to tackle the root causes of homelessness and end rough sleeping for good."
