Rough Sleeping and Good Growth Funds

Jeremy Corbyn Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Florence Eshalomi]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that vital point. As I have highlighted, this is not just about giving people a roof over their heads for Christmas; this is about the long-term support, including vital wraparound support, to help people stay off the streets and make a meaningful contribution to society. A number of people who find themselves sleeping rough or in homelessness want to go back and offer their vital employment and training skills, so it is vital that we look not just at a bed for Christmas, but at the support afterwards.

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Your Party)]

I absolutely welcome the statement. To achieve the aims the Minister has outlined, could she please end the “intentionally homeless” rule, which is often cruelly applied to people who end up homeless; will she increase the local housing allowance to a realistic level compared with local rents; and, finally, will she intervene to stop housing associations selling off empty properties in areas of high housing stress when they should be housing people in desperate housing need, not sold on the open market?

[Florence Eshalomi]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising those vital points. He is absolutely right about looking at the “intentionally homeless” terminology, which I know colleagues are continuing to look at. I and other Ministers press the matter of local housing allowance with the Treasury, and we will continue to do so. On housing associations and councils selling off some of their empty properties, it is vital that housing associations and councils have the capital funding to bring such properties back into use, and we will continue to work with them on how they manage those properties.