Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many places are available in hostels in London for rough sleepers accompanied by a dog or dogs.

Central government does not commission hostel provision directly. This is done at the local or mayoral authority level. For this reason we do not hold data on the total number of hostel spaces available in London, nor specific data on those rough sleepers with dogs.

However, the government does commission Homeless Link to conduct annual reviews on single homelessness support, which includes the number of hostel bed spaces (and void bed spaces) in the capital, and across the country. The latest of which is for 2017 and can be found (attached) at: https://www.homeless.org.uk/facts/our-research/annual-review-of-single-homelessness-support-in-england.

We appreciate that those rough sleeping with dogs have specific needs and do fund, through the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) and other programmes provision that accounts for this. For example, the new St Mungo’s RSI hostel in Bristol takes clients with dogs, as does emergency accommodation in St Edmundsbury and Nottingham. The RSI funded floating London hub – that moves between boroughs and is currently in Westminster – also accepts dogs into their service. Moreover, as a result of RSI funding, Birmingham has linked closely with Dogs On the Streets (DOTS). This organisation has significantly helped in working with entrenched rough sleepers who have dogs and other pets. As with the complex needs of any rough sleeper, we try and ensure someone having a dog, or any pet, is not a barrier to them getting the help they require.

This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.