Action on homelessness and rough sleeping in Greater Manchester boosted by £47m from Government

• Councils and GMCA to receive £47m from national funding package announced today (Wednesday 18 December)
• Funding will come through Greater Manchester’s new Integrated Settlement, with more flexibility to focus on key areas and support those in need
• Investment marks a welcome shift towards prevention, endorsing Greater Manchester’s partnership approach
• News follows announcement this month of GMCA investment in councils and uplift to A Bed Every Night services from next year

GREATER Manchester’s trailblazing work to prevent and end homelessness will be given a boost from next year, under new funding plans announced by the Government.

The city-region will receive a total of £47 million, allocated to councils and to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).

The funding announced today will support the delivery of groundbreaking work across the city-region to reduce and prevent homelessness and rough sleeping.

Greater Manchester’s new Integrated Settlement will mean that the money can be prioritised based on local need, with more flexibility on how it is used to support different programmes.

The investment will also help deliver Greater Manchester’s Housing First mission, based upon the principle that a good, safe home is the foundation of everything in life.

It follows the announcement earlier this month of £1 million in funding from the GMCA and national Government to help people off the streets and into accommodation this winter, and a further uplift to A Bed Every Night services from next year.

From April, at least 600 bed spaces will be available every night, together with the offer of personalised, wraparound support and dedicated schemes tailored to the needs of women, veterans, people who are LGBTQ+, people with pets, and others experiencing multiple disadvantage.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:

“This investment from Government will put us on a strong footing to drive forward our Housing First mission in 2025. It’s a sign of the Deputy Prime Minister’s own commitment to this cause that the package announced today puts a big focus on prevention, backing the approach we’ve taken here in Greater Manchester.

“With our new Integrated Settlement, we will be able to focus more than ever on the actions that will reduce and prevent homelessness and rough sleeping, while still supporting those in greatest need.

“From next year we want to press on with our plans to build 10,000 new truly affordable net zero homes, and in May we will be launching the UK’s first Good Landlord Charter – helping to protect and empower tenants and improve standards across the rented sectors. At the same time, I am personally committed to expanding A Bed Every Night in 2025, so that we can provide wraparound support to more people every single night, and this funding will help us to do that.

“At every level we are working to tackle the root causes of this crisis and bring it to an end. That means national and local government working together, our partners across the system pulling in one direction, and finally accepting that good, safe housing must be a fundamental right in this country.”

finally accepting that good, safe housing must be a fundamental right in this country.”

Paul Dennett, City Mayor of Salford and Greater Manchester Lead for Housing First, said:

“It’s right that the Government is getting serious about the crisis of housing and homelessness, after more than a decade of budget pressures and inaction left councils and local services struggling against a rising tide.

“We are proud of our track record in Greater Manchester. With our forward-thinking approach and our strong partnerships, we have managed to reduce the number of people sleeping rough while also placing a necessary focus on prevention, addressing the systemic issues that put people in that situation in the first place.

“The funding announced today will help drive forward that work throughout 2025. The move away from sticking-plaster solutions to an approach grounded in prevention is long overdue, and we welcome the significant increases to the Homelessness Prevention Grant for our councils.

“We cannot escape the fact that local teams remain under immense pressure, both financially and operationally. The consequences of failing to prevent homelessness are clear to see, not only in the toll on families and communities but the cost to the public purse, with councils here spending £74 million a year on renting temporary accommodation.

“Across the country there is also a chronic shortage of social and truly affordable housing. Enabling us to build that housing, and to do it at net zero standards to keep bills down, will be a big part of the solution to this problem.

“Systemic issues need a systemic response – and we’re pleased to see that the Government is prepared to face up not just to the immediate challenge but to the issues at the heart of this crisis.”

Article Published: 19/12/2024 11:25 AM