Councils have been asked to support rough sleepers into accommodation by the end of the week amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Chairman of the Local Government Association, Cllr James Jamieson, said: ‘This will be a huge task given the shortage of accommodation available, with many councils now affected by the recent closures of hotels and the difficulties some have faced where rough sleepers refuse to engage or take up the offer of help.
‘To help these efforts, some councils will need to call on the Government for urgent help to find accommodation and enforce this, and have access to funding if they need to cover staffing and support costs.’