Robert Jenrick has announced that Councils will receive an additional £15m of funding to make sure that every rough sleeper has a place to stay during the second national lockdown.
The funds come in addition to the £91.5m given to Councils in September, as well as £10m given to Councils as part of the Cold Weather Fund, designed to keep rough sleepers safe over winter.
Areas with high levels of rough sleepers will receive additional funding from the Government. These areas include: London, Cornwall, Manchester, Oxford, Birmingham.
This scheme – called the “Protect Scheme” – will run alongside the “Everyone In” campaign that has supported 29,000 rough sleepers, 2/3 of which are now in settled accommodation.
All councils will have to update their rough sleeping plans by the end of the year, providing an overview of their support for those sleeping rough.
They will also be asked to carry out a rapid assessment of the need for everyone they accommodate and to consider time-limited interventions for those rough sleeping now or new to rough sleeping.
The Government says that these cash injections to Councils will help them to provide for the needs of the most vulnerable in society and protect them from the health impacts of Covid-19.
Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, said:
“The way we have protected rough sleepers from COVID-19 is widely considered to be the best in the world.
“At the start of the pandemic, we launched Everyone In, which protected thousands of vulnerable people. That work hasn’t stopped and we’ve backed it with £700 million.
“As the new national measures come into force, I am launching the Protect Programme to ensure councils are offering everyone sleeping rough on our streets today somewhere safe to go – protecting people from the virus and moving forward with our goal of eliminating rough sleeping.”
