Councils To Receive Extra £310m Homelessness Prevention Grant Next Year

The Homelessness Prevention Grant will combine what was previously the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant and the Homelessness Reduction Grant with funding for these measures to be increased by £47m on current spending. Funding will be targeted at areas with high numbers of homelessness, including those living in temporary accommodation. Local authorities can use the money to offer financial support for people to find a new home, to work with landlords to prevent evictions or to provide temporary accommodation, among other preventative measures. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/councils-to-receive-extra-310m-homelessness-prevention-grant-next-year-69051 

Radical Package Of Measures Announced To Tackle Homelessness

A radical new package of measures to help tackle homelessness and ensure there is a strong safety net in place for the most vulnerable people in society has been announced by Communities Minister Marcus Jones. This includes:

·         maintaining and protecting homelessness prevention funding for local authorities

·         increasing central government funding for homelessness programmes

·         a commitment to work with homelessness organisations to prevent more people from becoming homeless

·         £40 million from the Department of Health to refurbish hostels

·         £30 million extra to councils to give them more control and flexibility over homelessness budgets

·         a £5 million fund to the 25 local authorities facing the greatest homelessness pressures

Read more on the CLG website.

Homelessness In London Soars By 38%

Homelessness in London has shot up 38 per cent amid multi-million-pound cuts to town hall grants for preventing rough sleeping. The House of Commons Library data shows the number of households accepted as homeless by all London boroughs rose from 12,720 in 2011/12 to 17,530 in 2014/15 — up 38 per cent. The rise is 12 per cent from the 2012/13 figure of 15,660. Meanwhile Whitehall has slashed the Homeless Prevention Grant given to London town halls by £5,171,000 since 2012. Outer London boroughs are hard-hit, with Barking and Dagenham’s grant down 31 per cent, Bromley 21 per cent, Greenwich 31 per cent and Haringey 21 per cent, all above-average cuts. Lewisham had a 27 per cent reduction. Read more on the Evening Standard website.

Homelessness – Parliamentary Written Answer

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Homelessness Prevention Grant; and what his future plans are for this policy.

Mr Marcus Jones: Our £500 million investment in local authority and voluntary sector homelessness services has contributed to local authorities preventing 935,800 households from becoming homeless since 2010. Together with other Departments, we are considering the overall level of funding for local government through the Spending Review.

Westminster Accused of Placing 1,000s of Homeless Families in Newham

Westminster's Labour councillors have called for an enquiry after it was claimed that the borough's council has been placing thousands of homeless families in neighbouring Newham. According to Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales, Westminster City Council has been outbidding Newham Council's housing team and moving its homeless households there. The mayor said: “Wealthy Westminster council receives about £8 million a year in homelessness prevention grant, while Newham, which has been dealt the biggest cuts in the country, gets just £700,000.” Read more on 24dash.

Landlords Return £3.9m Homelessness Funding

Homelessness providers have been forced to hand back millions in government development grant for new or upgraded hostels.  A total of 14 per cent (£3.85 million) of the £29.7 million homelessness change fund that is administered by the Homes and Communities Agency has been returned by six providers. Reasons included financial uncertainty caused by possible future welfare reforms, local opposition and difficult planning applications.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Homeless Link Fears Grant Could Be Diverted

An umbrella group is concerned councils could spend homelessness grant on purposes other than homelessness through proposed changes to allocating business rate funding.  Homeless Link has responded to a CLG consultation on the business rate.   One of the proposals is for certain grants, including the homelessness prevention grant, to be rolled into the business rates retention scheme.  Councils currently have to return business rates - paid by businesses and other non-domestic occupiers of property - to the government who then redistributes it. Under the new scheme, they could retain half of the money collected.  But Homeless Link says this means the grant will no longer be identifiable at local level and there will be no transparency on the way it is spent. They fear that councils could further cut money spent on homelessness services, as they could when the ring-fence came off Supporting People funding in 2009.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Shapps: Safety Net against Homelessness Continues To 2015

Funding to help those facing the real and frightening prospect of homelessness will continue to the end of this Parliament according to Grant Shapps.  Councils across the country are set to receive a share of £160million over the next two years.  The Minister also confirmed that a new website and telephone line, where anyone anywhere looking to get help for someone sleeping on the streets can go to, is on track to be available by Christmas.  He also offered a first-look at a new campaign aimed at encouraging people to seek help for rough sleepers in their area.  Mr Shapps announced that councils across the country would receive £160million over the next two years in Homelessness Prevention Grants - offering certainty that homelessness services will be funded to the end of this Parliament.  Read more on the CLG website.