No new money for rough sleepers, Communities Secretary James Brokenshire admits

Mr Brokenshire admitted there is no new money for the Government’s £100 million homelessness plan
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Kate Proctor13 August 2018
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Communities Secretary James Brokenshire has admitted there is no new money for the Government’s £100 million plan to tackle rough sleeping.

The flagship fund was welcomed by homelessness charities as a significant step towards helping the estimated 4,750 people sleeping rough on English streets on any given night. But under questioning on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Brokenshire said half the cash had already been committed to rough sleeping and the other half was “reprioritised” from existing budgets in his department.

He said: “Yes, some of this is reprioritised from within existing budgets where we have underspends … There are significant sums of money being focused and targeted.

"Half of that has already been committed to homelessness and rough sleeping. The remaining half is money that’s new to rough sleeping and homelessness, reflecting and recognising the priorities and importance of taxes.”

Earlier the Government’s integration czar Dame Louise Casey had said additional funds had to be committed if the pledge to end rough sleeping by 2027 was to be met.

Theresa May said she wanted to help homeless people “turn their lives around” as the £100 million plan was launched.

The Conservatives have promised to halve rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament and eliminate it by 2027.

The strategy includes £50 million for homes outside London for people ready to move on from hostels or refuges, and £30 million for mental health support for rough sleepers. There will also be money for those with addictions.

Asked again if it was all part of existing budgets, Mr Brokenshire replied: “What is important is ensuring that we make that difference on rough sleeping, getting people out from vulnerable situations.”

Last night Croydon South MP Chris Philp, parliamentary private secretary to Mr Brokenshire, had told the BBC’s Westminster Hour programme that the money was all new investment.

Dame Louise told the programme: “£100 million sounds like quite a lot of money … the department have been announcing money in various pots and it’s quite hard to get to the bottom of what is new money and what is existing money.”

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate had welcomed the strategy with the caveat that more must be done to tackle issues around housing benefit and lack of housing. She said: “This strategy is an important step forward in the fight against the rough sleeping emergency that’s led to people dying on our streets.

“We still need to tackle the chronic lack of genuinely affordable homes, deep instability of renting, and problems with housing benefit that are leaving so many without a home.

“If the Government wants to eradicate rough sleeping for good, this strategy must be quickly followed by a new plan to build many more social homes and efforts to create real security for those struggling with their rent.”

Nickie Aiken, leader of Westminster City Council, said: “Today’s emphasis on drug misuse in the strategy is welcome. Having had one rough sleeping death in Westminster formally ascribed to Spice this year, I hope we see more concerted action to tackle this lethal epidemic.”

The shadow Housing Secretary John Healey called the strategy “feeble”.

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