Dear Hinchliffe and Kennedy,
Thank you for your email of 8 May to Rt Hon Grant Shapps regarding Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council on the number of emergency beds for the homeless, I have been asked to respond on his behalf. I apologise for the delayed reply.
This Government is committed in tackling and preventing homelessness as the Government has invested £400 million over the next four years to support to local authorities and the voluntary sector with their services to prevent homelessness and tackle rough sleeping. This includes £10m being made available between 2010/11 to 2012/13 to fund voluntary sector schemes to improve access to the private rented sector for single homeless people and, £42.5 million for the Homelessness Change Programme which will provide in excess of 1,500 new and improved bed spaces to improve hostels for rough sleepers and ensure that those coming off the streets get the support they need.
On top of that the Government announced an additional £70m investment this year:
• £20million - Homelessness Transition Fund to support the roll out of No Second Night Out and protect vital front line services
• £20million - Preventing Repossessions Fund to enable local authorities intervene earlier and help people stay in their homes.
• £20million - Single Homelessness Prevention Fund to help ensure single homeless people get access to good housing advice. This is on top of the existing £12.5m to help single people access private rented sector accommodation.
• £5million boost to the Homelessness Change Programme (bringing the total investment to £42.5m) to deliver improved hostel provision and provide over 1,500 new and improved bed spaces.
• £5million - Social Impact Bond – using a payment by results model to help persistent rough sleepers in London. This is the first Social Impact Bond set up to tackle homelessness in the world.
The Government has also invested £6.5 billion over the next four years for Supporting People which will protect the preventative services that help the most vulnerable live independently and retain their tenancies.
As you may be aware, this money goes to local authorities, and they have complete freedom to spend the money how they wish, based on local needs and priorities. For this reason, I am afraid that I am not able to comment or intervene on specific local decisions to change or end particular services.
Yours sincerely,
Natasha Nwoko
Showing posts with label grant shapps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grant shapps. Show all posts
Friday, 25 May 2012
Response from Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Open Letter to Grant Shapps MP
Tuesday May 8th 2012
Grant Shapps MP
Minister of State for Housing & Local Government
House of Commons
Westminster
LONDON SW1A 0AA
Dear Mr Shapps,
We are writing to you on behalf of ‘Rochdale Chill-Out’, an apolitical group of people who came together as a result of the decision of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council to cut the number of emergency beds for the homeless from 500 to under 200. We are informed that virtually all of the 500 beds were almost always in full occupancy.
These cuts have already resulted in the closure of Providence House, the hostel and support facility run by the Salvation Army.
We are particularly concerned that the council apparently thinks that it can somehow plug the gaps by setting up a ‘Dial-a-Bed’ service. Given the client group that this is aimed at and having daily contact with workers from homeless charities, we are deeply sceptical about the viability of this. Given the risks in terms of mental and physical health issues, we cannot endorse some sort of ‘suck it and see’ policy that could result in increased early mortality rates on our streets. Neither are we prepared to accept assurances that the matter will be kept under review.
Many homeless people have a variety of ongoing issues relating to health, dependency and social factors. It is not simply a matter of finding them a bed for the night but also putting in appropriate support measures to help them to deal with and manage their problems.
You can discover more about us by following our Blog:
http://chilloutrmbc.blogspot.co.uk and also on Twitter @Chil1Out.
As well as meeting with councillors, charity-workers and other interested parties, we plan to hold a mass sleep-out outside the Town Hall on May 29th to coincide with the cabinet meeting in order to draw attention to the plight of Rochdale’s homeless but more importantly, to try to persuade our councillors that this policy is wrong.
We are asking you to examine this as a matter of urgency and use your influence or take any action possible in order to prevent more deaths on the streets.
Yours sincerely,
Pete Hinchliffe & Shirley Kennedy
Chill-Out Co-Organisers
Grant Shapps MP
Minister of State for Housing & Local Government
House of Commons
Westminster
LONDON SW1A 0AA
Dear Mr Shapps,
We are writing to you on behalf of ‘Rochdale Chill-Out’, an apolitical group of people who came together as a result of the decision of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council to cut the number of emergency beds for the homeless from 500 to under 200. We are informed that virtually all of the 500 beds were almost always in full occupancy.
These cuts have already resulted in the closure of Providence House, the hostel and support facility run by the Salvation Army.
We are particularly concerned that the council apparently thinks that it can somehow plug the gaps by setting up a ‘Dial-a-Bed’ service. Given the client group that this is aimed at and having daily contact with workers from homeless charities, we are deeply sceptical about the viability of this. Given the risks in terms of mental and physical health issues, we cannot endorse some sort of ‘suck it and see’ policy that could result in increased early mortality rates on our streets. Neither are we prepared to accept assurances that the matter will be kept under review.
Many homeless people have a variety of ongoing issues relating to health, dependency and social factors. It is not simply a matter of finding them a bed for the night but also putting in appropriate support measures to help them to deal with and manage their problems.
You can discover more about us by following our Blog:
http://chilloutrmbc.blogspot.co.uk and also on Twitter @Chil1Out.
As well as meeting with councillors, charity-workers and other interested parties, we plan to hold a mass sleep-out outside the Town Hall on May 29th to coincide with the cabinet meeting in order to draw attention to the plight of Rochdale’s homeless but more importantly, to try to persuade our councillors that this policy is wrong.
We are asking you to examine this as a matter of urgency and use your influence or take any action possible in order to prevent more deaths on the streets.
Yours sincerely,
Pete Hinchliffe & Shirley Kennedy
Chill-Out Co-Organisers
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