Communities Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday set out details of a new Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel as part of the Government’s commitment to halve rough sleeping by 2022.
The Panel will be made up of homelessness experts, charities and local government, and will support a ministerial taskforce, which brings together ministers from across the Government to help tackle rough sleeping and homelessness.
‘No one should ever have to sleep rough. That’s why this government is committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating it altogether by 2027,’ said Mr Javid.
‘To break the homelessness cycle once and for all, we all need to work together, drawing on as much expertise and experience as we can.’
As well as working with the taskforce, the panel will support the three Housing First pilots in the West Midlands Combined Authority, Greater Manchester, and the Liverpool City Region.
These £28m pilots will provide homeless people with stable, affordable accommodation and intensive wrap-around support.
Homelessness Minister Marcus Jones said: ‘The Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel brings together experts with both the knowledge and determination to reduce homelessness and end rough sleeping.
‘Working together with the charities and local authorities who have already achieved so much, we can fulfil our joint ambition to make sure we help some of the most vulnerable in society.’