Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) prevent and (b) reduce rates of homelessness among people with (i) long-term drug addictions, (ii) long-term serious mental health issues and (iii) learning disabilities.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
My department continues to work closely with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), the NHS and public health bodies to improve health and housing outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. In partnership with OHID, we are providing up to £186.5 million over three years (from 2022-25) for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant to support local areas to implement evidence-based drug and alcohol treatment and wrap around support for people sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough. We are also providing up to £53 million to fund housing support interventions which will improve the recovery outcomes for people in drug and alcohol treatment with a housing need.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps her Department is taking to (a) minimise the time spent in temporary accommodation by homeless children and (b) support the transition of such children into long-term accommodation.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Temporary accommodation has to be suitable taking into account of relevant needs, requirements and circumstances of the homeless person and their household, including any children. The provision of support to households placed in temporary accommodation is essential to ensure that they can continue to enjoy a reasonable quality of life and access the range of services they need. In formulating their homelessness strategies, housing authorities should consider what arrangements need to be in place to ensure that households placed in temporary accommodation, within their district or outside, are able to access relevant support services.
Government is committed to reducing the need for temporary accommodation by preventing homelessness before it occurs. That is why we are investing more than £1 billion through the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years, giving councils the funding they need to prevent homelessness as well as helping households move out of temporary accommodation into settled homes. As set out previously, Government has also been clear that the long-term use of B&B accommodation for families is inappropriate and unlawful and we are determined to stop this practice.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to (a) provide access to (i) mental health support, (ii) social services and (iii) recreational activities for and (b) otherwise address the needs and vulnerabilities of homeless children.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Temporary accommodation has to be suitable taking into account of relevant needs, requirements and circumstances of the homeless person and their household, including any children. The provision of support to households placed in temporary accommodation is essential to ensure that they can continue to enjoy a reasonable quality of life and access the range of services they need. In formulating their homelessness strategies, housing authorities should consider what arrangements need to be in place to ensure that households placed in temporary accommodation, within their district or outside, are able to access relevant support services.
Government is committed to reducing the need for temporary accommodation by preventing homelessness before it occurs. That is why we are investing more than £1 billion through the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years, giving councils the funding they need to prevent homelessness as well as helping households move out of temporary accommodation into settled homes. As set out previously, Government has also been clear that the long-term use of B&B accommodation for families is inappropriate and unlawful and we are determined to stop this practice.
Correspondence
Inquiry: Homelessness and rough sleepingFound: Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers Homelessness and temporary accommodation Submission
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
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 support efforts to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness in Darlington constituency.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is investing nearly £2.4 billion across three years to enable local areas to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in England.
This includes over £3.8 million allocated to the North-East, including Darlington, from the Rough Sleeping Initiative over the three-year period 2022-2025, and over £600,000 from the Homelessness Prevention Grant between 2023 and 2025.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many young people are currently homeless in the UK; what action they are taking to tackle youth homelessness; and whether they plan to create a national strategy to end youth homelessness as advocated by the PlanForThe136k coalition.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The most recent homelessness statistics for England (April to June 2023) are available at: Homelessness statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
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 billion over three years, recognises young people face particular challenges. The strategy confirmed a £200 million investment in the Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme (SHAP) which will deliver homes for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping, including young people. In addition, £2.4 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: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NICE guidance entitled Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness, published on 16 March 2022, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people experiencing homelessness have somewhere safe and secure to recover when discharged from hospital.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to promoting safe and timely discharge for people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, to appropriate accommodation.
We have ensured every acute hospital has access to a care transfer hub to manage discharge for people with more complex needs. In January 2024, the Department published guidance on discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness, to support staff involved in planning safe and supportive discharge of these patients from hospital. The guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he plans to take to help (a) Afghan and (b) Ukrainian refugees avoid homelessness in winter 2023-24.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government has welcomed nearly 200,000 Ukrainians through the Homes for Ukraine scheme and has provided £1.1 billion to councils through a tariff for each arrival in their area to support guests and sponsors. As set out previously, this funding was specifically designed to include support for LAs in the event that some sponsorships broke down. Most guests have, however, not needed to reply on homelessness support services. This year councils across the UK have been allocated £150 million to help prevent homelessness for Ukrainian households and others at risk of homelessness, with an additional £120 million available next year.
The vast majority of Afghans who were in bridging hotels have been supported to move into settled accommodation. We have provided a £35 million package for local authorities to increase support available to Afghans and help overcome the specific barriers in accessing the housing system, including £7,100 per person in flexible housing fund to help households into settled accommodation. There is also £9,150 per household available to local authorities for homelessness costs, and up to 6 months wraparound funding of £28 per person per day for those in temporary accommodation.
At Autumn Statement we announced £450 million for a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund which follows the first two rounds of £750 million.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the availability of step down support in London for homeless people being discharged from hospital care.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local systems are expected to undertake capacity and demand planning exercises for all intermediate care services, including step-down support.
We are working to ensure that people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness have a place to stay, and the right care and support to recover their health and wellbeing after leaving hospital. In January 2024 the Department published guidance on discharging people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, to support staff involved in planning safe and supportive discharge of these patients from hospital. Furthermore, between 2020 and 2022, the Department delivered £16 million to 17 local sites, including in London, to pilot Out of Hospital Care Models to people experiencing homelessness following a hospital stay. The Department’s guidance on discharging people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, is available at the following link:
Aug. 29 2023
Source Page: Homelessness in Scotland: veteran homelessnessFound: Homelessness in Scotland: veteran homelessness