Swindon and Wiltshire councils given £1.3million to provide a permanent place to live for rough sleepers

The government is providing £1.3million to the two unitary councils in Wiltshire for new safe, long-term homes for rough sleepers and other vulnerable people.

In total, projects across England will receive more than £150million to deliver more than 3,300 such homes by the end of March 2021, providing long-term accommodation to vulnerable people to keep them safe from coronavirus and rebuild their lives.

Swindon Borough Council has been given £650,000 and Wiltshire Council £619,000 to oversee local schemes that provide secure ‘move on’ style accommodation for people at risk of sleeping on the streets.

It is an important step towards achieving the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by 2024, alongside investment in new homes for social rent.

The funding is part of the government’s £433million investment to deliver 6,000 new homes for rough sleepers by the end of this Parliament and builds on the widely-praised ‘Everyone In’ campaign launched at the start of the pandemic which has helped to support over 29,000 vulnerable people, enabling councils to keep rough sleepers safe this winter.

In total, 276 schemes have been approved across England, which will deliver 904 new homes for rough sleepers in London and 2,430 elsewhere across the country.

This sits alongside the £91.5million in grant funding given to local authorities in September to support vulnerable people and provide short-term accommodation over the coming months, including a total of £161,000 for the two unitary councils in Wiltshire.

Also, a £10million Cold Weather Fund will support winter shelters and ensure they are Covid-secure.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Our ‘Everyone In’ plan is widely considered the most effective action taken by any country in the world to protect those sleeping rough from the pandemic.

“And that work hasn’t stopped - 29,000 rough sleepers and other vulnerable people have been supported into safe accommodation since the start of Covid-19.

“The next step in our mission is to ensure they have a more settled home.

“This is why we are providing over £150million, as part of the biggest ever investment in homes for the homeless, to deliver over 3,000 new long-term homes across England, giving them the stability and security they need to start to rebuild their lives.”