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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of homeless people who are clinically extremely vulnerable in England.

We recognise that many people sleeping rough have health and care support needs that make them clinically vulnerable or clinically extremely vulnerable.

That is why the Government is working with councils to prioritise support for clinically vulnerable people sleeping rough as part of the £15 million Protect Programme. Areas with high numbers of rough sleepers will receive extra targeted support to provide accommodation for those currently sleeping rough,?working with councils to prioritise those who are clinically vulnerable – this will continue throughout the winter.? All local authorities have been asked to update their delivery plans for supporting rough sleepers to set out how they will ensure rough sleepers are supported across the winter period. We have also worked closely with Public Health England and NHS England to ensure people who have been brought in from the streets in response to the Covid-19 pandemic have their health needs and care needs met. Local authorities continue to have statutory duties to help people identified as homeless, or threatened with homelessness in their area, including rough sleepers.

Our ongoing support to rough sleepers has been shown to have protected many extremely vulnerable people from the risk of Covid-19 and ultimately will have saved lives. According to research by UCL, published in the Lancet, preventative measures taken by the Government may have avoided 21,092 infections, 266 deaths, 1,164 hospital admissions and 338 intensive care (ICU) admissions of homeless people.

We know that the reasons people sleep rough are complex and that they require support as well as accommodation. On Monday we also announced allocations of £23 million for substance misuse treatment and recovery services for people rough sleeping or at risk, backed by an additional investment of £52 million next year. This will enable us to support more vulnerable people with substance misuse needs, to enable individuals to access the support they need to rebuild their lives off the streets and move towards longer-term accommodation.