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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps they are taking to provide people experiencing homelessness with units to self-isolate during the covid-19 outbreak.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has been working at pace with the GLA and a number of hotel chains across the country to secure accommodation for rough sleepers and we have now introduced a centrally coordinated booking process.

The vast majority of rough sleepers known to local authorities have now been made offers of safe accommodation – ensuring some of the most vulnerable in society are protected from the pandemic. This includes those rough sleeping or who have been living in accommodation with communal sleeping spaces such as night shelters.

This response is backed by £3.2 billion of additional funding for local authorities to enable them to respond to other COVID-19 pressures, including stepping up support for the adult social care workforce and for services helping the most vulnerable, such as those who find themselves experiencing homelessness during this time. This is in addition to £3.2 million in targeted funding to ensure that we minimise the risk to those currently unable to self-isolate.

This funding will assist local authorities with providing accommodation and support to vulnerable people who are at risk of, or who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. We will continue to work closely with local authorities to help ensure that they have the resources they need to protect people who are currently, or at risk of, sleeping rough.