Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that homeless people have access to (a) shelter, (b) financial support and (c) mental health services during winter 2020-21.

We have taken unprecedented action this year to protect vulnerable people. The ongoing 'Everyone In' campaign has helped to protect thousands of lives during the pandemic - by September it had supported over 29,000 vulnerable people, with over 10,000 in emergency accommodation and nearly 19,000 provided with settled accommodation or move on support.

We recognise the challenges that cold weather poses for local authorities in terms of rough sleeping. That is why we have launched a third year of the Cold Weather Fund. This £10 million fund is available to all local authorities to provide a robust, local response to support rough sleepers off the streets over the winter period, including providing self-contained and Covid-secure accommodation and support.

We have also provided a £2 million Homelessness Winter Transformation Fund (HWF) for faith and community groups to provide alternative provision this winter. This is on top of our 'Protect Programme' launched in November which is the next step in the ongoing targeted support to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our communities from Covid-19. A further £15 million will be provided to support the ongoing efforts to provide accommodation for rough sleepers during the pandemic. This programme will help areas that need additional support most throughout winter.

We recognise that rough sleeping is not just a housing issue and that many people need additional support. £23 million this year will be used to provide substance misuse treatment services for rough sleepers. This funding will provide the necessary support needed to many vulnerable individuals experiencing rough sleeping, including those accommodated under the Government's response to Covid-19. This will enable them to rebuild their lives and move towards sustaining long-term accommodation. Public Health England (PHE) has published guidance to assist commissioners, managers and staff in addressing Covid-19 in drug and alcohol services.

The Department of Health and Social Care has secured £30 million to meet the mental health needs of people sleeping rough, as part of the NHS England Long Term Plan - until 2023/24. This will ensure better access to specialist homelessness NHS mental health provision, integrated with existing outreach services, for the parts of England with the highest levels of need.

Taken together, the overall amount we are spending on rough sleeping and homelessness this year is over £700 million.