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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to support rough sleepers with (1) alcohol, and (2) drug, dependency

The 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. This 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.

This Government, and my Department, has policy responsibility for setting the national framework for homelessness and rough sleeping policy in England alone. It should be noted therefore that the interventions detailed in this response refer to England alone.

In its first year, our Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) provided over 1,750 new bed spaces and 500 staff. This year we have expanded the RSI with investment of £46 million for 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 2,600 bed spaces and 750 staff.

We know that many rough sleepers have substance misuse needs, and also that rough sleepers can struggle to access the support they need to tackle substance dependency. As set out in the Rough Sleeping Strategy we are conducting a rapid audit of health service provision to rough sleepers, including mental health and substance misuse treatment; £2 million has been allocated to test community-based models of access to health services for rough sleepers, including substance misuse services, and new training is being made available for front-line workers to help them support rough sleepers under the influence of new psychoactive substances such as spice.

We are also working across Government to ensure that rough sleepers who require treatment for substance misuse have access to the appropriate services. This includes working with the Home Office to ensure rough sleepers are considered in the forthcoming Alcohol Strategy, and continuing to support the forthcoming independent review of drugs policy, led by Dame Carol Black.