Burnham’s £442 million Christmas miracle

The government will offer everyone sleeping rough in England a route off the streets by Christmas under a £442 million package confirmed on Wednesday (19 August).

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the funding one month after making the end of rough sleeping his first instruction in office.

The package combines £340 million announced in July for settled accommodation with a further £102 million confirmed this week, drawn from uncommitted budgets at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

New accommodation and support rolls out across England this winter, modelled on the approach used during the pandemic.

“No-one should have to bed down in a doorway or outside a station. But we’ve seen it for so long that it feels like Westminster has started to accept it,” said Andy Burnham, Prime Minister.

“We did it in the pandemic. We can do it again. But it needs all of us. Government will put the money in. But I’m asking leaders in communities and sectors across society to play their part locally too.”

Areas facing the greatest pressures receive the largest share of the money, with every part of England getting some support.

Mayors take a leading role alongside councils in deciding how their allocation is spent, which means the shape of the offer differs from one authority to the next. Beyond emergency accommodation, the funding delivers more than 1,000 settled homes over the next three years, with intensive wraparound support attached.

The government published guidance alongside the allocations to help local areas mobilise before winter.

The guidance covers provision for women sleeping rough, who are under-represented in official counts and face greater risk of violence, abuse and exploitation, and encourages councils to consider single-sex accommodation with specialist, trauma-informed support for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Charities and community organisations receive £8.4 million of the new money through the Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund, taking allocations announced this week to £47 million across 100 projects over three years.

The fund opened to applications in February as a £37 million programme running to 2029, making this week’s uplift an increase on its original size. Small and medium-sized organisations use the grants to support people experiencing homelessness or at risk of it.

Cost to taxpayers

Research from Crisis suggests preventing 40,000 people from becoming homeless for a year could save taxpayers around £370 million.

The pandemic scheme Burnham cites as the precedent, ‘Everyone In’, housed around 37,000 people in hotels and temporary accommodation from March 2020, and Shelter’s assessment is that roughly a quarter of those helped went on to settled accommodation lasting at least six months.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner is responsible for the delivery timetable. “This funding will help thousands of people leave the streets behind, move into secure homes and get the support they need to rebuild their lives,” she said. “Working alongside councils, mayors and charities, we’re backing local areas to tackle rough sleeping at its roots.”

The national summit takes place in the autumn, bringing together leaders from business, finance, charities, health and faith communities.

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