Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.
I stood on a commitment to end rough sleeping and am pleased that almost 15,000 rough sleepers and those at risk of becoming rough sleepers have been offered safe accommodation since the start of the pandemic.
There needs, however, to be a long-term solution. The Next Steps Accommodation Programme will cover property costs and support new tenancies for around 15,000 vulnerable people. Local councils and their partners can apply for support from the £266 million fund, helping to make sure people continue to have a safe place to stay and can begin to rebuild their lives with wrap-around services and care.
Furthermore, £105 million has been given toward interim accommodation and £433 million has been allocated to provide 6,000 safe and long-term homes for those in need. £161 million of this funding is available this year to provide 3,300 units of supported housing for those in emergency accommodation. Also, Public Health England has provided £23 million for this year to ensure that drug and alcohol treatment is maintained as people move into longer-term move-on accommodation and to support those who have not previously engaged with treatment services.
The Government has extended powers to the most affected local authorities to support certain EEA nationals sleeping rough to the end of the year. I have been assured by ministerial colleagues that they are co-ordinating across departments on how these challenges can be addressed long term as we begin to recover from the pandemic.
Everyone deserves a home to call their own and affordability is key to ensuring people can do so. The Government has committed to the building of 300,000 new homes of all tenures each year by the mid-2020s, and great progress has been made with over 240,000 homes delivered in 2018-19 – the highest number in 32 years. The current £9 billion Affordable Homes Programme will be replaced by a £12 billion one to ensure that homes for low-income families are built where they are urgently needed.
Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Mel Stride MP
MP for Central Devon
