New funding of £432m to end rough sleeping will be announced in Wednesday’s budget, taking the total investment to £874m.
The prime minster has ‘set out his confidence that everyone sleeping rough will be offered a route off the street or wider support before Christmas’, the government states, with the extra £432m extending support to the end of this Parliament. Andy Burnham pledged to ‘end rough sleeping’ as part of his first speech as PM.
The government also held the first rough sleeping summit at Downing Street at the weekend, attended by housing providers, businesses, charities and others. The National Housing Federation is working with housing associations and local councils to identify at least 2,000 potential homes and bedspaces, including empty homes for people moving off the streets, while the Salvation Army is also working with partners to develop social housing and move-on options – ‘including provision for people with complex needs for whom mainstream accommodation may not be suitable’.
According to the Museum of Homelessness, more than 1,700 people died while homeless last year – almost 7 per cent up on 2024 – with over 30 per cent of the deaths either on the streets or in rough sleepers’ accommodation. More than half of the total number of fatalities were classed as ‘deaths of despair’ – the result of drugs, alcohol or suicide.
‘No one should ever have to sleep rough, which is why we are doubling our investment to more people and providing a chance to break the cycle and end sleeping on the streets of our country – not just this Christmas, but for the years to come,’ said chancellor John Healey.
‘We welcomed the prime minister’s initial commitment to offer everyone sleeping rough a route off the streets this winter, but we have always said that support must extend beyond emergency accommodation and beyond Christmas,’ said St Mungo’s CEO Emma Haddad.
‘So the doubling of funding announced today, an additional £432m, is a vital step towards sustaining progress for years to come. The key will be to build trusted relationships with people facing the most complex barriers to ending their homelessness and rebuilding their lives. Whether that’s poor physical or mental health, domestic abuse, or alcohol or substance use support needs, we know from our work that this takes time. Offers of a route off the streets will need to be person-centred and go hand in hand with patience and the right kinds of support.’