£891,615 funding boost to tackle rough sleeping in Boston and Skegness

  • East Lindsey District Council and Boston Borough Council will receive extra funding of £575,555 and £316,060 respectively to help tackle rough sleeping, as part of £200 million across England to get people off the streets.
  • Additional funding will cover over 14,000 bed spaces and 2,700 support staff.
  • The Conservative Government’s successful rough sleeping programme has already proven to reduce rough sleeping by 32 per cent.

Matt Warman has welcomed the announcement that more rough sleepers in Boston and Skegness are set to be helped off the streets and into safe accommodation thanks to a £891,615 funding boost. Boston Borough Council is to receive £575,555 and East Lindsey £316,060.

The funding allocated to Boston Borough Council and to East Lindsey District Council and will support vital projects such as night shelters, specialist mental health or addiction services, and targeted advice support to help rough sleepers off the streets for good.

It will fund up to 14,000 bed spaces and 2,700 support staff across England.

This funding is one part of an unprecedented £750 million investment this year to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping – part of the Conservative Government’s drive to end rough sleeping by 2024.

Analysis of the Rough Sleeping Initiative – now in its fourth year – shows that the programme has reduced rough sleeping by almost a third compared to areas which have not taken part in the programme.

Building on the past success of the programme, funding has almost doubled this year and will provide additional support to help those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Rough Sleeping Initiative was launched in 2018 to help local areas provide tailored services to those living on the streets.

With this investment, the Conservative Government has now allocated almost £400 million to 281 councils through the programme – which supports coordinated projects across areas including housing, mental health, addiction support and domestic abuse.

Funding from previous years of the programme is already having a transformational effect at a local level with local authorities reporting significant falls in the number of rough sleepers.

Commenting, Matt Warman said:

“I am delighted that Boston Borough Council and to East Lindsey District Council will receive a further £575,555 and £316,060 respectively to tackle rough sleeping in Boston & Skegness, through the next stage of the Rough Sleeping Initiative.

“This Conservative Government has shown it is absolutely determined to end rough sleeping, and this funding will do this by providing additional bed spaces and vital services such as night shelters and addiction support services in Boston & Skegness.

“There is still more to do, and I’ll be working with the council and local organisations to ensure the additional funds are spent locally in the most effective way, to cut rough sleeping as we build back better from the pandemic.”

Commenting, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP said:

“No-one should have to sleep rough and we have a duty to support the most vulnerable in our society.

“Since the start of the pandemic, we have made it a priority to protect rough sleepers through our ongoing Everyone In campaign, which has supported more than 26,000 people into long term accommodation so far.

“To build on this progress, we are making the biggest ever investment under the Rough Sleeping Initiative to provide vital services to those who need it most as part of our drive to end rough sleeping for good.”

Notes to Editors:

  • Delivering £206 million of funding for the Rough Sleeping Initiatives for 2021-22. This funding has been allocated across 210 areas (representing 281 councils) across England to tackle rough sleeping and fund initiatives to support people living on the streets (MHCLG, Press Release, 15 May 2021).
  • Investing £75 million over the next two years in drug and alcohol misuse services to ensure rough sleepers get the support they need to rebuild their lives away from the streets for good. £23 million this year and a further £52 million in 2021-22 will be invested in drug and alcohol treatment services, such as detoxes, rehabilitation services and mental health and substance misuse support, for vulnerable people sleeping rough.
  • Supporting people at risk of rough sleeping through our unprecedented Everyone In programme. Local councils have received more than £6.4 billion in un-ringfenced funding since the pandemic began. This has funded vital, emergency schemes such as the ‘Everyone In’ programme, which has helped more than 19,000 people into settled accommodation and is supporting a further 10,000; and the £15 million ‘Protect Programme’ which is providing additional targeted support and emergency accommodation in areas with the highest numbers of rough sleepers (MHCLG, Press Release, 29 October 2020).
  • Giving councils the funding they need to ensure people receiving support don’t return to sleeping rough. Backed by £105 million, the Next Steps Accommodation Programme gives councils extra funding to provide secure accommodation for people who have been supported during the pandemic, so that they do not return to sleeping the streets. Councils can also access a £10 million Cold Weather Fund to pay for covid-secure winter accommodation (MHCLG, Press Release, 13 October 2020; MHCLG, Press Release, 17 September 2020).
  • Providing thousands of new long-term, safe homes for rough sleepers who have been helped off the streets. Backed by more than £150 million, over 3,000 new homes will be made available in every region of England by the end of March 2021 as part of the Government’s investment of £433 million to deliver 6,000 units by 2024 (MHCLG, Press Release, 24 May 2020).
  • Reducing the number of people sleeping rough for the third year in a row, making progress on our commitment to end rough sleeping for good. The latest figures show the number of rough sleepers has fallen by 43 per cent since 2018 and is at its lowest level for six years. Numbers have now fallen for three years in a row (MHCLG, Rough sleeping snapshot, 25 February 2021).
  • Ensuring people at risk of rough sleeping can access a vaccine, protecting them and everyone they interact with. Councils received an additional £10 million in January to ensure anyone sleeping rough is able to access the Covid-19 vaccine in line with the priority groups outlined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. This will be done through a GP, or by other means if mainstream provision is unsuitable (MHCLG, Press Release, 8 January 2021).
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