Sleeping Rough: Government Assistance

(asked on 19th February 2024) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of government initiatives aimed at reducing rough sleeping; and what steps he is taking to address shortcomings in those initiatives.


Answered by
Felicity Buchan Portrait
Felicity Buchan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This question was answered on 26th February 2024

The Government is committed to ending rough sleeping and the latest official rough sleeping statistics show rough sleeping levels are 28% lower than before the pandemic, when Government provided significant funding to support vulnerable rough sleepers from COVID-19. Although we are making good progress delivering our rough sleeping strategy, we also know times are tough for many people and there is no room for complacency. We have now delivered over 5,000 units of accommodation through our Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme. In May 2023, we rolled out the Ending Rough Sleeping Data Framework to support local authorities to make well-informed decisions about commissioning of services that best meet local needs, and measure progress to end rough sleeping.

We have extended our flagship Rough Sleeping Initiative to 2025, with over £547 million funding so that local areas can provide the tailored support needed to tackle rough sleeping in their areas. This includes an additional investment of £47.7 million since RSI 2022-25 was first announced in September 2022 to increase funding for rough sleeping services in local areas with the greatest need. The RSI is funding 300 local authorities around the country including rural areas and smaller towns.

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