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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she has taken with relevant authorities to support armed forces veterans with (a) housing and (b) financial support in Romford constituency.

On 18 December 2024, the government brought into force regulations to exempt all former members of the regular armed forces from local connection and residency tests to facilitate their access to social housing. The regulations removed the five-year limit and will ensure that no veterans of the regular armed forces will need to meet a local connection test for social housing regardless of when they last served.

As announced at the Budget, £633.2 million will be provided to councils in England in the financial year 2025 to 2026 through the Homelessness Prevention Grant, to support them to deliver services to tackle and prevent homelessness. This includes an uplift of £192.9 million compared to 2024 to 2025. This funding can be used to tackle veteran homelessness. London Borough of Havering is receiving a total of £4,556,948 over 2025-26. All Homelessness Prevention Grant allocations for 2025-26 can be found here.

On 8 November 2024 the government also committed a further £3.5 million to the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme from March 2025, including Op FORTITUDE, the homelessness pathway for homeless veterans, including those rough sleeping. This is in addition to £8.55 million of funding made available to support veterans into housing over 2023-25.