Lewes MP welcomes £500,000 funding to help rough sleepers

Lewes MP Maria Caulfield has welcomed more than £500,000 of government funding to help rough sleepers and other vulnerable people.
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The £555,600 funding for Wealden District Council is part of a national investment of more than £150million.

Mrs Caulfield said this will enable people who sleep rough, or at risk of sleeping rough, to be rehoused in secure, long-term accommodation, providing some of the most vulnerable in society with a permanent place to live and help to rebuild their lives.

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These will be available by the end of March 2021, Mrs Caulfield said, and are part of the government’s investment of £433million to deliver 6,000 new homes for rough sleepers by the end of this Parliament.

Lewes MP Maria Caulfield in the House of CommonsLewes MP Maria Caulfield in the House of Commons
Lewes MP Maria Caulfield in the House of Commons

“This is great news for residents in Polegate, East Dean, Alfriston and the surrounding villages,” said the MP.

“This government funding of £555,600 will ensure secure housing for the most vulnerable in Wealden District, giving them somewhere safe to live and access to specialist support staff for things like mental health or substance misuse needs, so they can rebuild their lives, move towards training and work, and remain off the streets for good.”

In March, the Government launched the ‘Everyone In’ campaign to house rough sleepers in safe accommodation, helping to protect thousands of lives during the pandemic.

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By September, more than 29,000 vulnerable people had been supported, with more than 10,000 in emergency accommodation and nearly 19,000 provided with settled accommodation or move on support.

In total, 276 schemes have been approved across England, including 38 in London alone, which will provide 904 new homes for rough sleepers.

Outside of London, 238 councils have received approval to move to the next phase of development, encompassing 2,430 new homes.

Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP said: “Our Everyone In plan is widely considered the most effective action taken by any country in the world to protect those sleeping rough from the pandemic. And that work hasn’t stopped - 29,000 rough sleepers and other vulnerable people have been supported into safe accommodation since the start of COVID-19.”

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“The next step in our mission is to ensure they have a more settled home. Which is why we are providing over £150 million, as part of the biggest ever investment in homes for the homeless, to deliver over 3,000 new long-term homes across England, giving them the stability and security they need to start to rebuild their lives.”