Wirral Council is to receive a further £1.4 million to help anyone who is homeless or sleeping rough in Wirral to secure a roof over their head.
The money is from an extra £34.6 million announced this week for 70 councils around the country, and follows the Homelessness Reduction Act in 2018, placing a duty on local councils to act.
For the first time, the 2018 Act also requires priority be given to any Armed Forces veteran who finds themselves homeless.
Councillor Jeff Green, Leader of Wirral’s Conservatives, said:
Anyone who is homeless or sleeping rough has a legal right to get help from their local council. Before 2018, this wasn’t the case and too many people were being left on the streets, notably in the big cities.
This extra money for Wirral means we will be able to do even more to help some of the most vulnerable in our Borough, ahead of the winter months.
Over the last year, Wirral Council has used previous grants to support an outreach Service, provided by YMCA Wirral, operating a 7-day rota providing night-time support for people who are to be sleeping rough to encourage them to access emergency and in the longer longer-term, to access and maintain more permanent accommodation.
The Council has also employed a dedicated Officer within the Council’s Supported Housing Team who is responsible for ensuring, on a daily basis, that anyone sleeping rough is offered appropriate supported accommodation.
Councillor Green added: “The reasons why someone becomes homeless vary from person to person and many have multiple issues, whether it’s poor mental health, substance misuse or family breakdown. I hope the additional support available for anyone affected in this way will help to turn their lives around, which will be good for them, their families and the wider community.”
Anyone who meets someone who is homeless or sleeping rough is asked to notify the local council and partners using Streetlink – calling 0300 500 0914, online at www.streetlink.org.uk or via the dedicated ‘StreetLink’ from Apple iTunes / Google Play storePhone
Minister for Rough Sleeping Felicity Buchan added:
One year on from the launch of our ground-breaking strategy we remain as committed as ever to ending rough sleeping.
The full weight of government remains behind this very important pledge, and this can be seen in today’s funding boost to provide thousands more beds and hundreds more support staff into the heart of communities where they are most needed.
Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25 funding forms just one part of a wider package of support for rough sleepers and falls within the £2 billion this government has committed to spend over 3 years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. The wider package of support includes:
- Homelessness Prevention Grant: In excess of £1 billion flexible finding is being provided over 3 years to support councils to offer financial support for people to find a new home or to work with landlords to prevent evictions.
- Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme: This £433 million scheme will deliver 6,000 homes for people with histories of sleeping rough or those at risk of sleeping rough.
- Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme: Announced earlier this year, this new £200 million programme aims to deliver up to 2,400 homes, with funding for the necessary wrap-around support tailored to individual needs for 3 years
- Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant: We are providing funding of up to £186.5 million over this spending review period for substance misuse treatment. This investment has expanded these vital services to an additional 20 areas, bringing the total to 83 areas and 5 cross-London projects.
- Housing First Pilots: Our manifesto committed to pilot Housing First in 3 urban areas with contrasting challenges: Greater Manchester, West Midlands and Liverpool City Region. The programme was initially allocated £28 million of government funding, but in May 2022, they secured an additional £13.9 million in funding to drive forward the programme’s legacy.
- Accommodation for Ex-Offenders: This supports prison leavers at risk of homelessness into private rental tenancies. Over £42 million is being provided to local authorities in England, helping people with rental deposits, landlord incentives, and dedicated support staff, supporting 2,750 ex-offenders into their own homes in the private rented sector
- The Night Shelter Transformation Fund: A £13 million commitment over 3 years, aimed at small- to medium-sized faith and community organisations, providing accommodation and support to people who are homeless or sleeping rough.
- Voluntary & Community Sector Capacity Fund: £7.3 million funding to boost working across statutory, commissioned, and non-commissioned services and increase the capacity and skills of the sector through workforce support and training.
