Statement on rough sleeping

Recent reports has seen the number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on one night in England to have fallen for the second year running. The government has pledged a further £236m to tackle homelessness. The government has pledged that the new funding will go towards offering Housing First style ‘move on’ accommodation for up to 6,000 rough sleepers and those at immediate risk of rough sleeping, to give them stability and certainty over the long-term.

Robert Jenrick MP: "determined to end the blight of rough sleeping"

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, updated the House on the latest rough sleeping annual statistics for 2019 published today and the new approach of the Government. He told MPs, "We are determined to end the blight of rough sleeping and we've placed this great social ill at the heart of the moral mission of this government."

Robert Jenrick MP, continued:

"Today's figures are encouraging. They show that for a second year in a row the number of people sleeping rough has fallen by nine per cent [...] Areas funded by the Government's Rough Sleeping Initiative saw a 12% decrease."

Sarah Jones MP: "Rough sleeping is not inevitable"

Responding on behalf of the Opposition, Sarah Jones MP, Shadow Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said that "Rough sleeping is not inevitable in a country as decent and well-off as ours."

The Shadow Minister told MPs:

"The cost of a decade of austerity has been over 700 deaths last year on our streets and huge numbers of children and families in bed and breakfast and temporary accommodation. It is the defining mark of this Conservative government. And improvement on that record is welcome, but today's figures show that the number of people sleeping rough in shop doorways, and on park benches is more than double what it was when Labour left government."

• Watch Parliament TV: Statement on rough sleeping
• Read the Hansard transcript: Statement on the future relationship with the EU

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