Funding of almost a billion pounds next year marks a “turning point” in Government efforts to tackle and prevent homelessness, the Housing Secretary said.
Angela Rayner, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, described it as the “largest-ever investment” and said it would help “break the cycle of spiralling homelessness”.
Homelessness, which includes people living in temporary accommodation, is at record levels.
The latest official figures, published earlier this month by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, showed there were 123,100 households in England in temporary accommodation in the three months to the end of June – a rise of 16.3% on the same period the previous year.
There were 159,380 children in temporary accommodation between April and June this year, those statistics showed.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the country faces “the worst housing crisis in living memory” with some 40% of homeless families living in B&Bs or nightly-let accommodation, as the use of such emergency accommodation has doubled in three years.
Ms Rayner, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and minister for homelessness Rushanara Ali visited homelessness charity Crisis on Tuesday.
During the visit, the politicians met volunteers and helped pack up donations and supplies in the charity’s east London warehouse ahead of its Christmas appeal.
The funding, from April, includes a more than £190 million rise in the homelessness prevention grant which aims to help councils prevent homelessness in the first place.
There are also millions towards rough sleeping, providing warm beds and shelter for people at risk of, or already, rough sleeping.
Five million will go towards emergency accommodation reduction pilots, working with 20 local councils that currently have the highest use of B&Bs for homeless people.
London will see the biggest year-on-year increase in funding at almost £80 million, followed by the South East at just over £28 million more and the North West with a rise of almost £20 million.
Ms Rayner said: “Too many people have been failed by the system time and again. 160,000 children face spending this Christmas without a stable place to call home. I am determined to break the cycle of spiralling homelessness and get back on track to ending it for good.
“This largest-ever investment marks a turning point, giving councils the tools they need to act quickly and put in place support for people to tackle, reduce and prevent homelessness. It’s time to turn the tide.
“This historic funding comes alongside our work developing a cross-government strategy back on track to end homelessness, pulling every lever of the state, to ensure that we deliver not just sticking plasters but a long-term plan.”
Ms Ali said: “Our funding will not only support councils delivering vital services that meet the needs of their communities but also pave the way for our long-term plan to get us back on track to end homelessness once and for all.”
Big Issue founder Lord John Bird welcomed the “significant investment” and hoped it “signals a genuine change in how we approach the problem of homelessness and result in truly sustainable solutions”.
Shelter said the “cash injection is vital to help councils support people facing homelessness” but repeated its call for a commitment to build 90,000 homes a year for ten years, insisting “you cannot solve homelessness without homes”.
Crisis said it is “delighted to see the Government taking action to ensure councils have the necessary funding and the ability to use innovative approaches to tackle this crisis” adding that they “look forward to working with the Government to deliver a bold and ambitious cross-departmental strategy to end all forms of homelessness”.
