David Mackintosh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made by the Ministerial Working Group on Preventing and Tackling Homelessness.

Mr Marcus Jones

I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Kris Hopkins) on 26 March 2015, HCWS498, that sets out the considerable progress achieved by the Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness in the last Parliament. Local authorities and the voluntary and community sector have used the £500 million provided by this Government since 2010 to tackle and prevent homelessness, stopping 935,800 households from becoming homeless in the first place. It has also helped launch a significant number of important initiatives, including:

• No Second Night Out, supported by the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund, ensuring that rough sleepers receive the rapid support they need to move off the streets.

• A £5 million investment into the world’s first homelessness social impact bond delivering long term outcomes for 831 of London’s most frequent rough sleepers.

• The £15 million Fair Chance Fund, using payment by results and social investment to support 1,600 vulnerable young people into accommodation, training and employment.

• Department of Health’s £10 million Hospital Homeless Discharge Fund, supporting 52 voluntary sector-led projects to improve hospital discharge for homeless people so that their health and housing needs are properly addressed.

• £13 million to Crisis to support 10,000 single homeless people into accommodation in the private rented sector by 2016.

This Government remains committed to preventing and tackling homelessness. The Working Group is meeting again on Monday 30 November.