Government announces £1.2 million in extra funding to tackle rough sleeping in Milton Keynes

    As part of the Rough Sleeping Initiative, Milton Keynes Council will receive an additional £1,233,897 to help provide local support for rough sleepers.

    Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has recently put forward plans to help move rough sleepers off the streets and into safe accommodation with £203 million in extra funding nationwide.

    These funds will be used by councils, charities and other local groups to fund up to 14,500-bed spaces and 2,700 support staff across England.

     

    Explaining the timely importance of this move, the Housing Secretary said: "At the beginning of the pandemic we took swift and decisive action to bring rough sleepers in from the streets and settled them into longer-term accommodation in record numbers. That work continues, the results are clear and are a huge credit to all involved.

    "Ending rough sleeping is a personal mission for the Prime Minister and me – and we have made huge progress since he came into No.10, reducing rough sleeping by 43%.

    "To build on this progress, we are making the biggest ever investment under the Rough Sleeping Initiative to provide vital services to those who need it most, as part of our drive to end rough sleeping for good."

    MP for Milton Keynes North, Ben Everitt, spoke of his approval for the plans and how it will help the local area as he commented: "I'm really pleased the Government is committing an extra £1.2 million to help us support rough sleepers in Milton Keynes.

    "Last year we saw the numbers had fallen in MK with the extra funding and the Government's Everybody In scheme all playing big roles in this.

    "But while the numbers did drop, just one person sleeping on the streets is one too many so I will continue working with the Government and homelessness charities to make sure everybody gets the support they need.

    "This Conservative Government is committed to ending rough sleeping for good."

    The Rough Sleeping Initiative was launched in 2018 to help local areas provide tailored services to those living on the streets. With the recent investment, the government has now allocated almost £400 million to 281 councils through the programme – which supports coordinated projects across areas including housing, mental health, addiction support and domestic abuse.

    As a result of this programme, it is estimated that the number of people sleeping rough across England has fallen for the third year in a row, and by roughly 37% in the last year alone.

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