An emergency package of £220,000 for Bristol has been launched by the Deputy Prime Minister as part of a £10 million package for rough sleepers across the country this winter.
The funding boost can help to save lives this winter, ensuring rough sleepers have access to a safe and warm bed.
Bristol has the third highest concentration of homeless people of any city in the UK, with 912 people sleeping rough in Bristol between 2022-23. In 2023-24, Bristol’s cases represented more than 80% of recorded homelessness in the West of England region.
Last year a devastating 155 people died rough sleeping on the streets in England.
The funding has been targeted to areas that are most in need and can be used to provide support to vulnerable individuals sleeping rough, including veterans, care leavers, victims of domestic abuse, and to help prevent people returning to the streets.
Last week in the Budget, it was announced an additional £233m will go to tackling all forms of homelessness, taking total spending on reducing homelessness to nearly £1bn in 2025-26. This money will directly fund critical services to prevent homelessness and support people into secure, stable housing - helping those at risk of homelessness to pay deposits and negotiate with landlords, reducing the overall need for temporary accommodation.
This week the Deputy Prime Minister is chairing the first cross-government group on tackling homelessness. During the meeting the Deputy Prime Minister pledged to end “sticking plaster” measures, and instead tackling the root cause of the problem.
The taskforce is a first step in the plan to develop a long-term strategy to tackle all forms of homelessness, bringing together healthcare, the justice system and education.
The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:
“Anyone forced to sleep rough on our streets represents a complete failure of the broken system we've inherited. It's a national disgrace, and we can’t keep sticking plasters on it.
“We are approaching the harshest months of the year, so we are taking immediate action to reach anyone sleeping rough and help them off the streets this winter.
“Bringing together Ministers across government is a crucial step to tackle this crisis at its root, to ensure everyone has access to the basic right of safe, secure housing.”
West of England Mayor, Dan Norris, said:
“With more than 2,000 people reporting homelessness in West of England last year, I of course welcome the new government’s commitment to ending homelessness once and for all.
“Everyone deserves a safe, warm place to call home. The new funding announced by the Deputy Prime Minister will be an important step towards doing just that, supporting vulnerable people into accommodation.
“I welcome this cross-government approach through the new specialist taskforce to end homelessness, as well as tackling the wider housing crisis. My Mayoral Combined Authority stands ready to support in whatever way is most effective, including on long-term support through our skills programmes.”
The Homelessness Minister, Rushanara Ali, will work directly with mayors and closely with the homelessness sector, leading a new stakeholder group, bringing together experts and listening to frontline voices to build a long-term strategy and ensure support reaches those who need it most.
This funding comes alongside reinvesting in the NHS, increasing wages for the lowest earners and building an economy that will grow to create opportunity for all.
This is just one branch of the government’s wider drive to fix the housing crisis. Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, will be abolished through the Renters’ Rights Bill, immediately putting an end to one of the leading causes of homelessness.
Alongside this, the government will deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housing in a generation, with £500million in new funding for the Affordable Homes Programme for up to 5000 new social homes. Councils will also be able to keep 100% of receipts from all Right to Buy sales, enabling them to re-invest in more social housing available for families.
https://www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk/