Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release New government initiative to reduce rough sleeping, published on 30 March 2018, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Rough Sleeping Team announced in that press release.

The Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) is made up of a team of rough sleeping and homelessness experts, drawn from government departments, local authorities and agencies with specialist knowledge. These advisers have been working closely with local authorities with the highest numbers of rough sleepers, who are using our £30 million targeted fund to tackle rough sleeping in their area. The RSI has already made significant progress. According to data submitted by the local authorities, almost 3,500 individuals have so far been relieved or prevented from rough sleeping as a result of the RSI funding.