Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a (a) single and (b) ring-fenced support fund for homelessness.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This Government has made the unprecedented commitment to end rough sleeping within this Parliament and to fully enforce the Homelessness Reduction Act. We are providing an unprecedented £2.4 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping via a range of programmes. The majority of this funding is provided through ring-fenced grants, including the Homelessness Prevention Grant and the Rough Sleeping Initiative, to make sure that resources are committed to these priorities.
The approach to future funding will be a matter for the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the health issues faced by homeless people.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is working closely with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), the National Health Service and public health bodies to improve health outcomes for people experiencing homelessness.
This includes DLUHC funding of up to £186.5 million for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant, providing evidence-based drug and alcohol treatment and wrap-around support, and funding over £30 million of health interventions under the Rough Sleeping Initiative.
As part of the cross-government Drug Strategy, we are also working with OHID to provide up to £53 million for the Housing Support Grant to improve the recovery outcomes for people in drug and alcohol treatment with a housing need. In addition, the NHS England Long-Term Plan establishes new specialist mental health provision for people who sleep rough in high need areas, underpinned by a £30 million investment. To date, 37 sites have been launched across the country.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to publish a national youth homelessness strategy.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This Government is committed to tackling all forms of homelessness including youth homelessness.
The Government’s ‘Ending Rough Sleeping for Good’ Strategy, published in 2022 and backed by £2.4 billion, recognises young people face particular challenges. The strategy confirmed a £200 million investment in the Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme which will deliver homes for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping, including young people. In addition, £2.5 million of Rough Sleeping Initiative funding for 2022-2025 supports youth services in local areas.
The Department will continue to work with local authorities and partners in the voluntary and community sector and private sector to tackle youth homelessness.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on ending rough sleeping; and whether it remains his policy to end rough sleeping this year.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is committed to ending rough sleeping and we have made good progress towards this goal. Despite the challenging context, the long-term rough sleeping trends show the progress that government and local partners have made. Rough sleeping levels are 18% lower in 2023 compared to the peak in 2017 and 9% lower than they were in 2019 before the pandemic.
We are providing an unprecedented £2.4 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including over £547 million via the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) 2022-25. This includes a total additional investment of over £47 million announced in September 2023 and January 2024 for the RSI, and a further investment of up to £10 million through Rough Sleeping Winter Pressures funding, which is targeted at areas with the highest pressures.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authority contracts are (a) awarded following fair processes and (b) represent value for money.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Local authorities are independent statutory bodies accountable to their electorate.
As public bodies, councils are subject to Procurement Contract Regulations (2015), which, subject to the will of Parliament, will be replaced as set out in the Transforming Public Procurement Bill.
The overarching aim of procurement regulations is to ensure open, fair, proportionate and transparent processes are adhered to. At the heart of procurement regulations is achieving value for money. Local authorities contract within these legal frameworks and are themselves responsible for evaluating and delivering value for money on behalf of their local residents.