Councils are being encouraged to apply for the government’s £266m fund to help vulnerable people move into long-term accommodation.

The Next Steps Accommodation Programme will provide new tenancies for around 15,000 vulnerable people who were moved into accommodation during the pandemic.

The money will be used to move people into the private rented sector or into alternative interim accommodation.

Secretary of state for housing, Robert Jenrick, said: ‘We now have a landmark opportunity to break the cycle of rough sleeping and ensure that people do not return to a life on the streets.

’Today I am launching the funding to ensure that vulnerable people and rough sleepers continue to have a roof over their heads and are helped into longer term accommodation, enabling them to start to rebuild their lives.’