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Written Question

Homelessness

Thursday 2nd May 2024

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with homelessness stakeholders on measures within the Criminal Justice Bill.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities lead on homelessness and rough sleeping and as such have regular meetings with stakeholders. They reviewed the Vagrancy Act and determined replacement legislation was needed. They published the response to their public consultation on replacement in 2023.

The Home Office has additionally engaged with police, local authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners and other organisations including the homelessness sector. This has highlighted that more direct tools were needed to respond to begging and rough sleeping where it causes nuisance to others.

These provisions will be supported by guidance highlighting that local authority outreach and engagement remain at the heart of our approach and that these civil tools support a staggered approach to enforcement where that is necessary.

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Written Question

Homelessness: Burnley

Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 17987 on Homelessness: Burnley, how much funding his Department provided to Burnley Borough Council through the (a) Homelessness Prevention Grant and (b) Rough Sleeping Initiative since 2019.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Burnley Borough Council have received £1,080,784 in Homelessness Prevention Grant funding since the first year of the grant, 2021/22. Burnley Borough Council have also been beneficiaries of up to £650,497 through direct allocations and as members of joint local authority bids in Rough Sleeping Initiative funding since they were first funded in 2020/21.

The funding allocations for the Homelessness Prevention Grant are published here: 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24-2024/25. The funding allocations for the Rough Sleeping Initiative are published here:2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23-2024/25.

Policy, guidance, research and grant funding allocations for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping are published here Homelessness and rough sleeping - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

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Written Question

Hospitals: Homelessness

Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to prevent patients (a) experiencing and (b) at risk of homelessness from being discharged from hospital to no fixed abode.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to promoting safe and timely discharge for people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, to appropriate accommodation. Between 2020 and 2022, the Department delivered £16 million to 17 local sites, to pilot Out of Hospital Care Models to people experiencing homelessness following a hospital stay. These models provide interim accommodation, care, and support while full assessments of individual needs are carried out. There are positive preliminary findings, and a final evaluation is due next month. From this we will share learning to encourage local areas to adopt similar models.

Improving how discharges are arranged for people experiencing, or at risk of homelessness, is also supported by our wider work to improve discharge processes. We have ensured every acute hospital has access to a care transfer hub to manage discharge for people with more complex needs, who need extra support. Furthermore, in January 2024 the Department published guidance on discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness to support staff involved in planning safe and supportive discharge of these patients from hospital. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharging-people-at-risk-of-or-experiencing-homelessness/discharging-people-at-risk-of-or-experiencing-homelessness

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Written Question

Homelessness: Finance

Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 17987 on Homelessness: Burnley, if he will provide a link to the relevant page on his Department’s website where allocations of grant funding to Burnley Borough Council are published; and whether his Department publishes information on other support provided to local authorities on gov.uk.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Burnley Borough Council have received £1,080,784 in Homelessness Prevention Grant funding since the first year of the grant, 2021/22. Burnley Borough Council have also been beneficiaries of up to £650,497 through direct allocations and as members of joint local authority bids in Rough Sleeping Initiative funding since they were first funded in 2020/21.

The funding allocations for the Homelessness Prevention Grant are published here: 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24-2024/25. The funding allocations for the Rough Sleeping Initiative are published here:2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23-2024/25.

Policy, guidance, research and grant funding allocations for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping are published here Homelessness and rough sleeping - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

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Departmental Publication (Statistics)
Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities

Jan. 31 2024

Source Page: Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Systems-wide evaluation feasibility reports
Document: Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Systems-wide evaluation: Feasibility study (PDF)

Found: Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Systems-wide evaluation feasibility reports

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