UK government has announced an additional £432 million to tackle rough sleeping, extending support for people living on the streets beyond March 2027 and through to the end of the current Parliament, as Prime Minister Andy Burnham seeks to ensure everyone sleeping rough is offered a route off the streets or wider support before Christmas.
The funding, which is expected to be set out at the Budget later this week, brings total investment behind the government’s commitment to £874 million, building on an initial £442 million programme aimed at helping people access safe accommodation and specialist support.
The announcement marks the next stage of a pledge made by the Prime Minister on his first day in Downing Street to make tackling rough sleeping a national priority and end the acceptance of street homelessness as an unavoidable feature of British society.
According to the Prime Minister Andy Burnham, “rough sleeping isn’t a fact of life. It’s a thing governments either choose to accept or don’t.”
“Well I don’t accept it. That’s why we’re doubling funding so that people aren’t just offered a safe route off the streets this winter but have that same support right through the rest of this Parliament too. But we can’t do it alone.
“If we’re going to end rough sleeping, we need every part of society behind us on this. So today we’re bringing together businesses, charities and local leaders in Downing Street to make sure this is a solution that lasts.”
Andy Burnham
Government Pledges Sustained Investment
Also, Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey emphasised the need for sustained investment.
“No one should ever have to sleep rough, which is why we are doubling our investment to more people and providing a chance to break the cycle and end sleeping on the streets of our country not just this Christmas, but for the years to come.”
John Healey
In addition, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner indicated that, “this is a big ambition. We know that. But we will not back down from making sure everyone has the offer of a route off the streets this Christmas. This summit is about bringing every part of society together behind that mission. Ending homelessness is not only a moral imperative – it will make our communities and our country better off.”
“The first step is giving people a roof over their head and freedom from the nightly struggle to find somewhere safe to sleep. But Christmas is only the beginning and that’s why we will keep working together to tackle the root causes of homelessness and end rough sleeping for good.”
Angela Rayner
Businesses and Charities Commit Homes, Jobs and Support
Alongside the funding announcement, the Prime Minister will host the first-ever Rough Sleeping Summit at Downing Street, bringing together businesses, charities, housing providers and local leaders to coordinate efforts to tackle homelessness.
The summit is intended to mobilise resources and expertise from across society, with participating organisations making commitments spanning accommodation, employment, digital access, food security and wellbeing.
The National Housing Federation will work with housing associations and local authorities to identify at least 2,000 potential homes and bedspaces for people moving off the streets, including empty properties that could be returned to use.
Social Bite will establish a new partnership with the government to expand its modular supported accommodation model, which combines settled housing with intensive and community-based assistance. The Salvation Army, working with its housing association, Salvation Army Homes, and public-sector partners, will also explore developing social housing, modular accommodation, and move-on options, including provision for people with complex needs who may not be suited to mainstream accommodation.
In addition, UnLtd and Key Fund will partner with the government to help social ventures create sustainable jobs for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. ReGenerate will work with Liverpool City Region and the Liverpool Mayor’s new Homelessness Taskforce to identify further opportunities for businesses to support pathways into employment.
Virgin Media O2 will provide devices, data and connectivity support in partnership with Refuge, helping women and children affected by domestic abuse and experiencing homelessness remain connected to services and assistance.
L’Oréal Group will launch a UK Social Salon partnership with St Mungo’s and Haircuts4Homeless, offering wellbeing support to people sleeping rough. IKEA will combine direct funding, employment programmes, community partnerships and public awareness campaigns to address both the immediate effects and underlying causes of homelessness.
Other commitments include the Morrisons Foundation’s planned Good Food Fund, which will provide £500,000 in grants to help communities address food insecurity, including support for charities assisting people sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness.
Comic Relief will commit further resources to tackling homelessness and housing insecurity, with efforts to raise public awareness and support in 2027. Landsec will provide access to its Piccadilly screens and other displays across its retail portfolio to promote homelessness charities and related causes.
The Faith and Homelessness Collective, representing more than 100 church leaders and leaders of faith-inspired housing and homelessness organisations, will also mobilise support for the government’s immediate winter commitment and longer-term prevention efforts.
More than 30 organisations and investors from the impact economy, representing billions of pounds, have signalled their support for the initiative. They will work with the government to encourage investment in move-on accommodation, strengthen organisations helping people remain housed, expand employment and training opportunities, and increase funding for homelessness prevention.
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