‘We can’t wait nine years to solve the rough-sleeping crisis’
DEPUTY MAYOR SAYS GOVERNMENT PLEDGE TO TACKLE ISSUE IS TOO WEAK
GREATER Manchester chiefs say they simply can’t wait nine years to end the ‘humanitarian crisis’ of rough-sleeping as the government pledges £100m to end the problem.
Ministers yesterday announced the cash boost as part of the Tory’s commitment to halve rough-sleeping by the end of this Parliament – and eliminate it by 2027.
But Labour has branded the plan as ‘feeble’ as charity workers across our region insist that the government needs to do more to increase affordable housing, simplify benefits and crackdown on artificial cannabinoids such as the zombie drug Spice.
Greater Manchester deputy mayor Bev Hughes said the region’s chiefs, who have already pledged to end rough-sleeping in Greater Manchester by 2020, can’t wait almost a decade to solve the problem.
“Any investment into ending the humanitarian crisis of rough sleeping has to be welcomed, and we will work with the government to see what these proposals mean for the work we are already doing in Greater Manchester,” she said.
“Here in Greater Manchester we want to end the need for rough sleeping by 2020, and this is well ahead of the government’s target of 2027.
“In Greater Manchester, we understand the scale and depth of the problem, which is why we are taking urgent action now.
“We simply can’t wait nine years to solve this.
“Ending the need for rough sleeping in Greater Manchester by the end of the decade is a bold ambition – but that’s how we do things here.
“And it’s more than just talk – we’ve brought together public bodies, the private sector, and the community and voluntary sector in a way that simply isn’t happening elsewhere. We’ve produced a clear and deliverable plan which is starting to see results.”
Sue Grumbridge, of Manchesterbased charity Lifeshare, said providing free training for volunteers would be one of the most useful things the government could provide.
She said: “It doesn’t matter how much money we get, if we have not got the appropriate training it won’t work.”
It has not yet been decided how much of the £100m the government will allocate to Greater Manchester – or when. However, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the region has already received £418,088 from the Rough Sleeping Initiative and will get £8 million over three years to deliver a regional Housing First Pilot.
The prime minister has conceded it is a ‘complex issue’ and said the government must ensure it deals with the ‘underlying problems.’
Mrs May added: “Nobody should have to sleep rough and that’s why we must do all we can to help the most vulnerable in our society get the support they need.” The new strategy will offer support with mental health and addictions as well as help with accommodation.
It will focus on efforts to stop people becoming homeless in the first place and support to get those in crisis off the streets and into long-term housing. The strategy includes £50m for homes outside London for people ready to move on from hostels or refuges and £30m for mental health support for rough sleepers.
A new network of specialist ‘navigators’ will help rough sleepers access services and accommodation. There will be training for frontline staff on how to help people under the influence of artificial cannabinoid Spice.
Ministers are also expected to review legislation on homelessness and rough sleeping, including the Vagrancy Act, which dates back to 1824 and still makes it illegal to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales.
Communities Secretary James Brokenshire said: “It is simply unacceptable that people have to sleep on the streets and I am determined to make it a thing of the past.” He later admitted that none of the £100m ‘boost’ is new money.
Rather it has been allocated in part from cuts and ‘underspends,’ while the other £50m is ‘reprioritisation’ from within existing budgets, he said. Labour’s Shadow Housing Secretary John Healey has dismissed the strategy as ‘a feeble plan that lacks any urgency to tackle the crisis of rising roughsleeping”.