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 3 July 2020 to Question 64913 on Homelessness: LGBT People, how many frontline homelessness workers took part in the training on issues facing vulnerable groups in the 2019-20; and whether the Government plans to provide that training in 2020-21.

A skilled frontline workforce, capable of supporting an individual who may have a range of complex needs, is essential to delivering good services and ultimately reducing homelessness and meeting the Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping. That is why, as part of the Rough Sleeping Strategy, the Government committed to provide support for frontline staff working with those who are homeless.

The Key Groups Training has been operating since Summer 2019. To date over 2,500 frontline homelessness staff have been trained across the five courses that make up the programme, including a package focused on LGBT homelessness. This includes staff in local authorities, voluntary organisations, commissioned and non-commissioned services and staff in homeless hostels.

The training will continue to be offered free of charge to frontline homelessness workers until December 2020. We are currently working with training suppliers to determine the legacy of this project beyond this date.