LGA responds to Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping interim report

The Local Government Association (LGA) comments on the publication of the Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping interim report.

Cllr James Jamieson, Chairman of the LGA, said:

“The success of councils in getting thousands of people sleeping rough off the streets during the pandemic is testament to local and central government working together to transform people’s lives for the better.

“The funding provided by government throughout the COVID-19 crisis has been crucial in enabling councils to tackle rough sleeping and get people into safe, suitable and Covid-secure accommodation.

“However, as this important report says, it is now vital that we ensure this is not a one-off emergency response, and that we build on this and embrace the opportunity to make this the new normal and end rough sleeping altogether.

“It is really important that as a society we are able to support those who are vulnerable. This will only succeed with sector-wide working at a local level, in particular including health, housing associations and the voluntary sector.

“We want to work closely with government on a cross-departmental homelessness prevention strategy, which sees councils supported with long-term funding to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place, with the changes to welfare benefits introduced following the coronavirus outbreak maintained for as long as they are needed.”

Kindly shared by Local Government Association

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