ROUGH SLEEPING
Many of you have spoken to me about the number of people who are sleeping rough in your constituencies. Indeed, we have debated the issue at almost all oral questions since I became Secretary of State, and on numerous occasions in Westminster Hall. The need to reduce rough sleeping is an issue on which the Cabinet, and the Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce, are united. The recent severe weather has highlighted the difficulties of those without a home and, as the Prime Minister said in her landmark speech on housing earlier this month, nobody should be without a roof over their head in one of the world’s largest, strongest economies.
That is why this Government, in our manifesto, pledged to halve rough sleeping by 2022, and eliminate it altogether by 2027. We were pleased to support the Homelessness Reduction Act – the most ambitious homelessness legislation in decades – which comes into force on April 3rd. As our Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel have told us, although local authorities will now do more to prevent people from become homeless, it is important not to stop there. Only by taking a holistic approach to homelessness and rough sleeping will we ensure the support is there for those who need it most.
That is why I have announced a new decisive plan of action which builds on the foundation of the Homelessness Reduction Act to provide further support and funding. I will continue to work with the Advisory Panel as they inform our future strategy, but believe it important to take action to make a difference for rough sleepers and those at risk now.
I have created a new cross-Whitehall, multi-disciplinary Rough Sleeping Initiative to work intensely with local areas to immediately tackle rough sleeping, and identify and address the longer term barriers preventing authorities taking action. The new team will build on, and complement, the work of our successful Homelessness Advice and Support Team, and include experts from front-line services who have detailed knowledge of the complex needs of rough sleepers, and experience of how they can be helped. Crucially, the team will also include experts from a wide range of government departments who can reflect on the experiences of practitioners and recommend longer-term policy changes across Whitehall.
Secondly, in addition to the £50m Homelessness Prevention Programme that we announced in 2016, I have announced a targeted £30m fund for local authorities with high numbers of people sleeping rough so they can take more action to support those sleeping rough and those at risk ahead of next winter. In these areas we will co-produce, fund and drive delivery of tailored interventions that will reduce rough sleeping in the most effective way possible.
The new Rough Sleeping Initiative will have direct oversight of how this fund is delivered. This tailored approach will ensure interventions are planned on the basis of need, existing provision and service gaps in each area and that funding is directed to the places where it will have most impact. The types of interventions we expect to fund include local co-ordination and case management work, assertive outreach, a range of emergency accommodation options, access routes into more settled accommodation and support to help people engage and sustain accommodation. These interventions have worked in the past, and will work again. Over the next few weeks, officials will work with local authorities to determine who could best use the money available. I will update Parliament when I have decided how the fund should be spent to deliver the best outcomes.
In addition, the Government is committed to finding a way to provide additional, coordinated move-on accommodation for rough sleepers, building on the existing 3,750 ‘clearing house’ places which are already provided in London. It will work with the National Housing Federation to explore the possibility of extending a London-based scheme that provides housing association properties for rough sleepers.
Other Departments are working with us to support the initiative. Up to £135m of dormant assets will be directed to Big Society Capital (BSC) by DCMS to deploy into a substantial programme of investment in housing for vulnerable people including those most at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping. The first investment opportunities in this programme will be launched in the autumn. We are also working in partnership with DCMS to explore opportunities for new Social Impact Bonds that provide effective and innovative support to rough sleepers.
I am confident this package will achieve substantial results, alongside the work already underway to meet our manifesto commitment by, for example, piloting the
internationally proven Housing First approach at scale in the UK for the first time As the Prime Minister has said, the challenge of fixing our broken housing market – and putting a home in reach of all who need one – is matched only by the strength of this Government’s ambition to tackle it.