Greater Manchester awarded £16.95 million towards tackling homelessness

Greater Manchester is to receive £16.95 million in additional funding from government to support work in the city-region to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

As part of the funding, an initial £6.1 million will help ensure an offer of accommodation and support is there for everyone who needs it by Christmas this year. Next year, £10.85 million will help the city-region work with local councils and other partners in the sector to take on more properties and provide sustainable, long-term accommodation for people to get back on their feet.

Nationwide, £442 million will be distributed to local authorities across England, announced by government in August, as part of a drive to end rough sleeping. Funding forms part of a commitment by the Prime Minister to address homelessness nationwide and will see Mayor Bev Craig continue work started in the city-region during Andy Burnham’s time as Mayor under the A Bed Every Night programme.

The number of people seen sleeping rough on a single night in Greater Manchester last year was 197 – well down from the peak of 268 in 2017, and equivalent to 6.5 per 100,000 people, below the national average of 8.2. This has been achieved by joined-up action to offer emergency support and make targeted interventions to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping in the first place.

As Mayor, Bev Craig has set out that she will build on these foundations and going further – getting more people into A Bed Every Night to access support, and tackling the root causes of the housing crisis by building more council and social homes across towns and cities in Greater Manchester.

Welcoming the announcement of additional funding from government, Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig said:

“In a rich country like ours, no one should be stuck on the streets, and no one should be shut out from accessing the help they need. As Mayor I’m determined to make sure everyone has safe and secure accommodation this winter.

“In my first weeks as Mayor, I’ve made it my priority to get more people into A Bed Every Night, offer a route for everyone who needs it to get off the streets, and ensure nobody is left without access to wraparound support this Christmas.

“As the temperatures start to drop, I will be leading our city region’s efforts, together with our dedicated partners across the sector, to make sure nobody is forced to sleep rough this winter. We will be putting this new funding to action immediately, helping to strengthen our ABEN support offer for more people this year.