Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of rough sleepers in London.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why since 2010 we’ve invested more than £500 million to prevent and tackle homelessness in England. In London, we have given the Mayor £34 million to deliver pan-London rough sleeping services, with an extra £8.5 million for this work in 2015/16.
DCLG publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics. The latest figures, for 2014, are attached.
More rough sleepers are being found and helped thanks to our investment. Our measures include supporting the roll-out of No Second Night Out across England through the Homelessness Transition Fund. In London, two-thirds of rough sleepers come off the streets after a single night. We have also commissioned the pioneering StreetLink service, which since its launch has helped over 14,500 rough sleepers by connecting them to local support services and avoid becoming entrenched in a life on the streets.
We are committed to do more to improve services for homeless people with complex needs. Our investment includes £5 million for the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond, which is reaching 830 entrenched rough sleepers in London.
