I have been contacted by a number of constituents as part of
the campaign ‘The time to end rough sleeping is now’.
Homelessness matters. In Parliament and in our constituency
I have often spoken about the importance of tackling this issue and have voiced
my strong support for legislations and initiatives seeking to eradicate
homelessness.
I am delighted that the government intends on leading the
fight to end homelessness by publishing its Rough Sleepers Strategy recently,
which commits £100m towards eliminating rough sleeping in England by 2027. This
will include £30m of funding for mental health and substance abuse services and
£50m for new homes outside of London for those ready to move on from hostels.
It will also give renewed focus on preventing homelessness by providing more
intensive support for those vulnerable to homelessness, including people
leaving prison or care.
I am proud to be supporting the implementation of this
strategy, which complements the Homelessness Reduction Act (came into force at
the beginning of April). The Act provides new support to people who aren’t
entitled to help under the current system, by requiring local authorities to do
more to prevent homelessness – incorporating prevention and relief duties for
the councils, as well as a duty to refer for other public services, and
continued protection for affected families.
Cornwall has received hundreds of thousands of funding
as part of the Homelessness Reduction
fund to support those sleeping rough and those at risk in 83 local authorities
with the highest need. I am pleased that the Government has released this
further funding to Cornwall Council to help support those sleeping rough. This
represents a significant step in the Government’s plans to reduce rough
sleeping, but crucially Cornwall Council does need to ensure that this funding
is used so that it helps both those in need of support as well as the
communities they are in.
This funding nationally will provide for over 500 new staff
focused on rough sleeping. This will include more outreach workers to engage
with people on the streets, specialist mental health and substance misuse
workers and dedicated co-ordinators to drive efforts to reduce rough sleeping
in their areas. It will also provide over 1700 new bed-spaces nationally
including both emergency and settled accommodation.
I applaud the vital work of campaign groups to ensure that this
issue remains on the top of Government’s agenda. I will continue to work to
ensure that the Government be given every resource necessary for it to keep its
pledge of eradicating rough sleeping in the next decade.
