Covid-19 Lockdown: Homelessness and Rough Sleepers Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
James Murray
Main Page: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)Department Debates - View all James Murray's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Covid-19 Lockdown: Homelessness and Rough Sleepers
James Murray Excerpts(4 years ago)
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Kelly Tolhurst
I thank my hon. Friend for the work that she has done in this area and the passion that she has in working with me and the Department to tackle this issue. She is absolutely right. It is so important that we are working with local authorities and that money is going to organisations to develop programmes to help with prevention, to deliver support and to provide the mentoring that is so valuable. It is all very well for me as a Minister to stand here today and say what we are doing, but people who have had real-life experience and understand what the reality is are able to impart that and then hold the hand of those individuals who are affected as they navigate the system. That is so invaluable.
James Murray (Ealing North) (Lab/Co-op) [V]
In a letter to the Secretary of State in June about rough sleepers during covid-19, community organisations, faith leaders and Ealing Council wrote:
“Without question, the hardest group to support under the current framework is those with no recourse to public funds.”
The Secretary of State’s announcement last week made it clear that the new Protect programme funding was there to ensure that
“everyone sleeping rough on our streets”
has
“somewhere safe to go”.
Could the Minister therefore confirm whether this funding can be used to help those sleeping rough who have no recourse to public funds?
Kelly Tolhurst
The rules on eligibility to immigration status have not changed, including those on no recourse to public funds. It is down to local authorities to use their judgment in assessing the support that they can lawfully give to the individuals. This does already happen. We were very clear to local authorities in May that, under Next Steps, they were to carry out individual assessments of people who were rough sleeping and take decisions on who they would provide support for. Part of that was providing accommodation to vulnerable people.