Manchester has been given more than £800,000 to help people sleeping rough find a place to stay by Christmas. The cash, totalling £846,000, was provided by the government and will be shared among 10 organisations around the city, including Coffee4Craig and Mustard Tree.
Prime Minister’s pledge on rough sleeping
Andy Burnham pledged to end rough sleeping in his first promise as Prime Minister in July. Standing outside Downing Street he said: “I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction - to end rough sleeping in our country. It’s about putting the right values and the right standards at the heart of government.
“I will put the care of people at the heart of everything I do. I will give this my all and I ask you all to pull with me.”
How the funding will be used
Manchester council has already approved a decision for how the money will be spent. It will fund finding a ‘route off the streets’ for people sleeping rough by Christmas, as well as funding towards accommodation, new homes, and support.
Figures from the council published in May revealed there were 59 people sleeping rough in March this year, which is the ‘highest the figure has been since March 2024 when it was at 65 persons.’ It also shared that there were more families staying in emergency housing than 12 months ago.
Council response to the funding
The council said in its report about the new government rough sleeping cash: “Organisations will particularly focus support on people where the council does not have a statutory accommodation duty, who are newly rough sleeping or who benefit from bespoke engagement support.”
Tracey Rawlins, deputy leader at Manchester council, welcomed the extra funding. She said: “The factors which lead to people living on the streets are complicated, so those routes cannot be ‘one size fits all’ and may include treatment for addiction or mental health issues and other intensive support, not only accommodation.
“We must also recognise that not every offer of support will be accepted and continue to reach out to, and build relationships with, people sleeping rough so they know help is there.
“We have always been clear that the scale and complexity of the homelessness challenge means that the council cannot tackle it alone. Our voluntary, charity and faith sector partners play a hugely important role within the city in providing the range of support which people living on the streets need. We are glad that we can use this extra funding to strengthen their work.”
