Maria Caulfield, Member of Parliament for Lewes, is thrilled to welcome homelessness prevention grant funding. The Government has made excellent progress on its commitment to end rough sleeping and continues to do more.
The Conservative Government have seen a sustained decrease in rough sleeping on a single night, with rough sleeping levels 49% lower in 2021 than the peak in 2017, according to the official snapshot, and over half a million households have been supported to secure accommodation since the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act.
The government have announced the allocation of £654 million through the Homelessness Prevention Grant that will be made available to local authorities in 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support them to deliver services to prevent and tackle homelessness.
Funding will be allocated to all local authorities in England, targeting areas with high levels of homelessness, including those living in temporary accommodation.
The ringfenced grant will be provided upfront each year and can be used flexibly by councils to deliver their homelessness and rough sleeping strategies - by offering financial support for people to find a new home, providing temporary accommodation, working with landlords to prevent evictions or other measures to prevent homelessness. This will support local authorities to embed fully the Homelessness Reduction Act and prevent more people from becoming homeless or sleeping rough.
This funding includes £24 million to increase support to homeless domestic abuse victims following the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. This will help local authorities give priority need for accommodation to those who are homeless as a result of being a victim of domestic abuse, ensuring victims do not remain with their abuser for fear of not having a roof over their head.
Today’s announcement builds on the £366 million (which includes the £50 million top-up from 04 December 2022) of Homelessness Prevention Grant funding provided to local authorities in 2022/23.
Maria Caulfield MP said:
“I am very pleased to see the Conservative Government taking homelessness so seriously. This is a serious problem and it is good to see the government providing the Homelessness Prevention Grant. In 2023 – 2024 the Lewes local authorities will have £535,213 and in 2024 – 2025, Lewes will see £541,980 which the local authorities will be able to use to help those who are homeless and in need of support."