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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2020 to Question 34975 on Homelessness: Coronavirus, what proportion of rough sleepers known to local authorities have accepted the offer of accommodation.

Over 90% of those on the streets and in communal night shelters known to local authorities at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis have now been made offers of safe accommodation – ensuring some of the most vulnerable in society are protected from the pandemic.

This data is based on information provided to MHCLG by local authorities. We do not currently hold information on how many accepted these offers.

We announced that councils across England will receive another £1.6 billion in additional funding to?enable them to respond to Covid-19 pressures across the services they deliver,?stepping up support for services helping the most vulnerable, including homeless people.?This takes the total funding to support councils to respond to the pandemic to £3.2 billion.??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.?With this funding councils can provide support to those who need it most, including getting rough sleepers off the street.

The Government has made clear that no one should be without a roof over their head, and this funding further demonstrates our commitment to assist the most vulnerable in society.