Burnley Council receives extra funding to help homeless

Burnley Borough Council, in conjunction with Rossendale Borough Council, has secured a £213,848 slice of £91.5m. government funding to ensure interim accommodation and support for the most vulnerable people.

This includes helping people into the private rented sector, secure interim accommodation such as supported housing, and assess the wider support these people need in order to rebuild their lives.

The Next Steps Accommodation Programme is part of the Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping for good.

An additional £13.5m. fund will be used to enable local authorities to tackle new or emerging challenges.

Separately, applications are now being considered for a further £161m. fund intended to provide more than 3,300 additional supported homes this year for those sleeping rough or currently housed in emergency accommodation.

The bidding has now closed and details on successful bids will be announced in due course. This is part of broader support to provide 6,000 such homes over four years.

Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham said: "I was proud to have been elected on a manifesto that pledged to end rough sleeping during this Parliament and that’s exactly what we are working to achieve.

"The coronavirus pandemic has shown us what is possible, but at the same time it presents new challenges. We need to work together to end rough sleeping here in Burnley and Padiham and this extra funding will help the council to make sure nobody has to sleep rough in our borough”.

Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Kelly Tolhurst MP said: m“This funding will make a difference to many thousands of vulnerable peoples’ lives, continuing to help them address complex needs, and to rebuild their lives, away from the streets in safer interim accommodation.

“I want to commend the Rough Sleeping Taskforce, council, providers and partners for the support they’ve provided so far. Together, we’re providing the support required to end rough sleeping and break the cycle of homelessness once and for all”.

Chief executive of St Mungo’s homeless charity Steve Douglas said: “We welcome the speed with which this funding has been allocated.

"It will be for both homes and support, and will build on the success of the ‘Everyone In’ initiative, which enabled us, and other homelessness charities and service providers, to help almost 15,000 people sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness to move into emergency accommodation during the pandemic, and to receive the support they needed. This undoubtedly saved lives.

“We have seen what can be achieved when we work together. Going forward we want to work with government and partners on longer term solutions and hope that the homelessness review for a long term strategy will begin this autumn."