“As we enter this second national lockdown, councils will continue to do everything they can to accommodate new rough sleepers during the winter as well as support those already off the streets into safe, long-term accommodation with the appropriate support."
Responding to the announcement of £15 million in government funding to provide accommodation to rough sleepers during lockdown and throughout winter, Cllr James Jamieson, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said:
“As we enter this second national lockdown, councils will continue to do everything they can to accommodate new rough sleepers during the winter as well as support those already off the streets into safe, long-term accommodation with the appropriate support.
“Councils are stepping up to this huge ongoing challenge and this funding is good news. It will boost local efforts to try and find safe, self-contained accommodation available to all those who need it over the winter.
“It is good a further extension has been announced to measures to protect tenants from eviction, which should, for now, reassure worried tenants and allay the serious concerns councils have had over the potential risk of homelessness some private renters may have faced during this second lockdown and over the Christmas period.
“We would also urge the Government to temporarily remove the No Recourse to Public Funds condition, which would reduce public health risks and pressures on homelessness services by enabling vulnerable people to access welfare benefits, who are currently unable to do so because of their immigration status.”