Tens of thousands of people will be protected from homelessness as a result of a £316m funding boost to councils that has been announced by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
The government’s Homelessness Prevention Grant will support households in England who are homeless or at risk of losing their home.
Councils will use the funding to help them find a new home, access support for unexpected evictions and secure temporary accommodation where needed.
The funding includes an additional £5.8m to support people forced into homelessness by domestic abuse.
This follows the Domestic Abuse Act, which ensures councils give people who find themselves in this situation a ‘priority need’ for assistance.
Funding will be allocated to all councils responsible for housing in England based on local homelessness need in individual areas.
The government said this underlines their commitment to ensure people at risk of becoming homeless across the country get help more quickly.
Since the Homelessness Reduction Act came into force in 2018, over 400,000 households have been successfully prevented from losing their homes or supported into settled accommodation.
This has resulted in rough sleeping levels falling by 37% between 2019 and 2020.
Commenting, Minister for Rough Sleeping, Eddie Hughes said:
“I have seen first-hand the devastation of those who come face to face with homelessness, and my heart goes out to anyone in this situation.
“The support we are announcing today is going directly to communities that need it most.
“It will help thousands of people across England, with councils able to prevent homelessness before it occurs and put a roof over the heads of those who have lost their homes.”
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