On 04/09/2023 the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced new Rough Sleeping Initiative allocations within the existing funding commitment.
Responding to the announcement, Rick Henderson, CEO at Homeless Link, the national membership body for frontline homelessness services, said:
“Everyone deserves a safe place to live and the support they need to keep it. But rough sleeping rose by 26% in 2022, the biggest year on year percentage rise since 2015.
“Homelessness services have been hit hard by the cost of living crisis, so any support for the sector is welcome. However, our research* found almost a quarter of homelessness accommodation providers have seen a decrease in funding since 2021, with a further 56% reporting no change in funding despite prolonged inflation. Many have scaled back or even closed down as a result, with this funding nowhere near enough to plug the gap.
“The Government must act to turn off the tap of homelessness in the first place. Its refusal to raise the Local Housing Allowance rate means there are very few affordable homes for people on low incomes, while the delays to reforming the private rented sector mean the millions of households who rent privately can still be evicted through no fault of their own, the biggest cause of homelessness in recent years.”
