Councils in England to be asked for plans to house every veteran sleeping rough before Christmas
The Prime Minister will write to councils on Armistice Day, and £8.7m is being shared between eight organisations that help homeless veterans.
Andy Burnham is to write to councils in England on Armistice Day asking each of them to draw up a plan to offer accommodation to any veteran who is sleeping rough, with the aim of doing so before Christmas. Downing Street announced the move on Saturday evening.
Councils are being asked to pay for the plans out of the government's rough sleeping money, which has had an extra £874m added to take it to £4.4bn. Downing Street describes that total as a record. Each plan is meant to be worked out with the local charities and groups that already support former service personnel.
The Prime Minister wants national and local government to work to the principle that nobody who has served in the forces should be left on the streets, according to the announcement. It ties the pledge to the Armed Forces Covenant and to the instruction he gave on his first day in office to end rough sleeping.
Where the £8.7m is going
A separate £8.7m is being shared out under the Reducing Veteran Homelessness programme. It pays housing providers to give veterans with complex needs extra help with health, addiction and finding work. The eight organisations receiving a share are:
- Veteran Housing Scotland
- Launchpad
- Alabare
- The Riverside Group
- Wigan Council
- RBVE
- SSAFA, The Armed Forces Charity
- Tom Harrison House
The helpline
Veterans who are sleeping rough, or anyone helping one, are being urged to ring the UK-wide helpline on 0800 9520774. It is the Op FORTITUDE line, which is free to call in the UK. It can put callers straight through to housing and specialist support, and Downing Street says it has helped more than 1,250 veterans into a home so far.
