• Rough sleepers across England to have access to new, safe, long-term homes, along with support, backed by more than £150 million.
• First 3,300 of 6,000 planned new homes for rough sleepers to be delivered by March 2021.
• The Government are investing more than £700 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this year as part of manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping.

Henry Smith MP has welcomed the news that the Government is providing funding for Crawley Borough Council for new, long-term homes for rough sleepers and other vulnerable people.

In total, projects across England will receive more than £150 million to deliver more than 3,300 such secure homes by the end of March 2021, providing long-term accommodation to vulnerable people to keep them safe from coronavirus and rebuild their lives.

Crawley will receive £200,000 for local schemes that provide secure ‘move on’ style accommodation for people at risk of sleeping on the streets and is an important step towards achieving the Government’s manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by 2024, alongside investment in new homes for social rent.

This is part of the Government’s investment of £433 million to deliver 6,000 new homes for rough sleepers by the end of this parliament and builds on the widely praised ‘Everyone In’ campaign launched at the start of the pandemic which has helped support over 29,000 vulnerable people – enabling councils to keep rough sleepers safe this winter.

In total, 276 schemes have been approved across England, which will deliver 904 new homes for rough sleepers in London and 2,430 elsewhere across the country. This sits alongside the £91.5 million in grant funding given to councils to support vulnerable people and provide short-term accommodation over the coming months, and a £10 million Cold Weather Fund to support winter shelters and ensure they are Covid-secure.

Henry said;

“The Government, working closely with local authorities, has shown throughout this pandemic that it is willing to take the swift, decisive action necessary to keep some of the most vulnerable people in our community safe.

“I’d like to thank all those involved for everything they’ve done to get people off our streets and into secure, safe accommodation.

“The ‘Everyone In’ campaign has protected thousands of lives. If we are to deliver on the manifesto promise to end rough sleeping by the end of the parliament, then the people who have been helped need to be able to access long-term housing that gives them the safety and security they need to rebuild their lives, which is exactly what this funding will do.”

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, Robert Jenrick, commented;

“Our ‘Everyone In’ plan is widely considered the most effective action taken by any country in the world to protect those sleeping rough from the pandemic. And that work hasn’t stopped - 29,000 rough sleepers and other vulnerable people have been supported into safe accommodation since the start of COVID-19.

“The next step in our mission is to ensure they have a more settled home. Which is why we are providing over £150 million, as part of the biggest ever investment in homes for the homeless, to deliver over 3,000 new long-term homes across England, giving them the stability and security they need to start to rebuild their lives.”