Government pledges £4.3m boost for rough sleeping schemes – but city council says its not enough

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says the Rough Sleeping Initiative, now in its third year, led to the first nationwide fall in rough sleeping in a decade in 2018.

But government figures from that year show that the number of people living on Manchester’s streets rose by a third last year – the highest outside London.

The city council will get £724,212 through the scheme, which is aimed at providing rough sleepers a place to stay, access to mental health or addiction services, and advice on securing permanent accommodation.

Deputy leader Cllr Sue Murphy has welcomed the funding boost from a government "waking up to the reality" that councils need urgent investment ‘after a decade of "underfunding".

“This is not ‘new’ money, but a continuation of funding for services that are being run by the council,” said Cllr Murphy.

“It will, however, allow us to expand the support we offer to people who are homeless and sleep rough, such as additional social care for people who need more than just a roof over their heads.

“The council will always welcome extra funding following a decade of austerity, but we have to stress that if the government is serious about ending the homelessness crisis we need more from them.

“We need policy which understands the root causes of homelessness, and we need long-term sustainable funding, rather than smaller one-off payments to support the ever increasing cost of supporting people who are homeless.”

Almost a third of Greater Manchester’s allocation – £1.3 million – will go to Salford council, with Wigan council and the combined authority receiving £728,086 and £715,900 respectively.

This is how the remainder of the £4.3 million will be split in the city-region:

Bolton – £124,997

Bury – £40,000

Oldham – £37,000

Rochdale – £32,029

Stockport – £40,000

Tameside – £471,500

Trafford – £40,000

A Bed Every Night, the regional scheme to get rough sleepers of the streets started by regional mayor Andy Burnham, is also likely to benefit from the funding.

Counts conducted by the combined authority report that the number of people sleeping rough in the city-region has fallen from 241 in November 2018 to 151 last year.

Mr Burnham could not be reached for comment on the government announcement.

Trafford council’s Housing Options Service (HOST) will invest the money into providing innovative ways to prevent to relieve homelessness – including affordable move-on accommodation in the private sector.

Last year, 639 people were rehoused in the borough, with a further 416 prevented from becoming homeless. The local authority also dealt with 1,698 homeless applications.

Cllr James Wright, executive member for housing and regeneration, said: “Tackling homelessness is one of the key challenges we face in Trafford, like every other local authority throughout the country.

“Demand for all types of accommodation has increased and supply has not managed to keep up.

“Trafford Council has made tackling homelessness a key priority and we do everything we can to keep people off the streets.”

Wigan council will also use its money to increase the number of available private-rented accommodation from 2020/21.

Cllr Terry Halliwell, cabinet member for housing and welfare, said the funding was "testament to the hard work" of the homelessness team and its partners, such as The Brick and Real Change Wigan.

In total, local authorities across the UK received £112 million through the Rough Sleeping Initiative this year – a 30pc increase on last year’s share.

The money will pay for up to 6,000 new bed spaces and 2,500 more support staff across the country, according to the government.

Robert Jenrick, secretary of state for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, said: “No-one should have to face a night on the street and we have a moral duty to support those who need help the most.

“It is encouraging to see more people getting the support they need, but there is always more to do."