Sleeping Rough

(asked on 24th March 2017) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies findings in the Homelessness Monitor 2017, published by Crisis in March 2017, that (a) rough sleeping has increased by 132 per cent and (b) homeless placements in temporary accommodation have increased by 52 per cent since 2010.


Answered by
Marcus Jones Portrait
Marcus Jones
Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
This question was answered on 29th March 2017

The Crisis Homelessness Monitor 2017 presents the challenges of homelessness in the country and is informed in part by data which is collected and published regularly by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

The Government is committed to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping. As the Crisis report acknowledges we are taking action by supporting the Homelessness Reduction Bill which will significantly reform England's homelessness legislation, ensuring that more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.

We are also spending £550 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in England by 2020. This includes our £50 million Homelessness Prevention Programme which will deliver an end-to-end approach to prevention, supporting 84 projects across England, including £30 million to help those who are sleeping rough or new to the streets, or those with the most complex needs, recover from their homelessness.

Time spent in temporary accommodation means people are getting help and it ensures no family is without a roof over their head. Households now spend on average less time in temporary accommodation than at the start of 2010. We have recently announced the allocations for the DCLG’s new Flexible Homelessness Support Grant which will replace the Department for Work and Pensions Temporary Accommodation Management fee from April this year. This will provide local authorities with greater control and flexibility over homelessness budgets.

Reticulating Splines