Government launches 'action plan' to tackle rough sleeping

Housing Minister Iain Wright has announced a plan to reduce the number of rough sleepers to as close to zero as possible. New measures will help those who are 'entrenched' on the streets.

The new plan will enable hostels to provide access to support, training and employment.

The government is to provide access to training and employment opportunities, supported by the £160 million put in place to refurbish hostels and improve their services by 2011. The Minister has invited stakeholders involved in rough sleeping to join in the discussion on a package of measures to underpin the strategy. Key components in the strategy will be

• A renewed drive to identify and engage with the most persistent rough sleepers to get them off the streets and into a more stable environment, minimising the risk of falling back into old routines and old patterns of dependency. Groups such as older drinkers have historically been harder to reach and new models may be needed to get them in off the streets, such as personalised support.
• Universal access to skills programmes in hostels to develop an individual's talents and boost their confidence in stepping up and out of insecurity and dependency. The Government's £160 million investment in projects to reduce rough sleeping also includes an academy in London, which will provide former rough sleepers with opportunities to develop skills in areas of employment as diverse as restaurant management to cookery skills.
• A new London homeless taskforce, bringing together the Government, the voluntary sector and local authorities to better tackle rough sleeping. These key players will help to put the right solutions in place for people with complex needs, preventing them slipping through the net and back onto the streets. It will have a pan-London focus to effectively tackle rough sleeping across the capital.
• The provision of 500 units of private rented accommodation in London to enable those who are ready to move out of hostels, but still need some level of support, to live independently. This will free up hostel spaces for those coming in from the cold and help prevent hostels 'silting up' with those who are ready to make the next step.
• Increased working across government to ensure the one stop shops can provide tangible, practical support across a range of homeless issues. As well as providing skills the hostels will provide specific support for those in need, for example making sure that those with dependencies such as drugs or alcohol have access to the services they need.

The government claims that the number of rough sleepers in the UK reduced from 1,800 in 1997 to around 500 on any given night, but says the challenge now is to help the remaining persistent rough sleepers make a permanent move away from the streets, especially in London.

Iain Wright said: "Over the last ten years, we've seen major reductions in the number of rough sleepers. But we can do more to drive this figure down further. Our ambition should be to get rough sleeping down to as close to zero as possible. We need to change all hostels from simply beds for the night into springboards of opportunity, places where an individual can learn skills that will help them back into a stable home and a stable working life."

Many hostels are already operating successful training schemes ranging from cookery and mechanical repairs, to IT and decorating, which are helping rough sleepers away from the streets. But the Government wants to see these kind of services more widely available.