Austerity cuts must not leave people to freeze on the streets

Homeless Link calls on all local authorities to ensure they have emergency accommodation in place for rough sleepers

Following the coldest November spell for 17 years and forecasts that the wintry weather is set to last for another week, Homeless Link is calling for all local authorities to work in partnership with local voluntary sector agencies to make arrangements to prevent rough sleeper deaths during the extreme cold weather.  Known as the Severe Weather Emergency Protocols or SWEP, this provision should be triggered when the night time temperature is predicted to be zero degrees or below for three consecutive nights.     

Jenny Edwards, Chief Executive of Homeless Link, the national network of frontline homelessness charities working to end homelessness, said,

"Many areas are implementing well oiled plans. In most areas with no major rough sleeping issue the costs should be minimal. There is existing guidance available - there is no need to re-invent the wheel.  However, we are concerned to hear of some reluctance to implement arrangements that could save lives because of cuts. While we understand the current pressures on local budgets, we do not accept this is an area that can be cut. Avoiding unnecessary risk to life is a fundamental concern for any civilised society. We'll push hard to ensure that special provisions are made throughout England for this most exposed and vulnerable of groups."

Employees from hostels and local authorities attending a Homeles Link conference yesterday on preventing evictions and abandonments from hostels were reminded of their joint responsibility to homeless people and rough sleepers in general, but particularly during extremely cold weather.  Homeless Link has launched a free toolkit for homelesness services and local authorities for tackling evictions and abandonments.  The toolkit includes guidance, tools and examples from other services to help agencies understand the causes of evictions and abandonments in their area and provides ideas on how to reduce them.   It can also be used by local authorities who want to reduce the number of unplanned moves among the services they commission. 

Cold weather provision resources

For detailed information on winter shelters, SWEP guidelines and other good practice on working with rough sleepers in extreme weather conditions, please visit our good practice pages on our website