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Prime Minister sets out confidence that everyone sleeping rough will be offered route off the street before Christmas, backed by a further £432 million to sustain support beyond this winter
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New funding to be outlined funding to be confirmed at the Budget on Wednesday, taking total investment behind the Prime Minister’s commitment to £874 million
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First-ever Rough Sleeping Summit at Downing Street brings together businesses, charities and local leaders to mobilise action, with major organisations pledging homes, jobs and practical support
The Prime Minister today set out his confidence that everyone sleeping rough will be offered a route off the street or wider support before Christmas, as he announces a further £432 million to help deliver the ambition and sustain support for years to come.
The additional funding, to be set out at the Budget later this week, reflects the Prime Minister’s determination to make tackling rough sleeping a national priority. It will extend support beyond March 2027 and through to the end of this Parliament, taking total investment behind his commitment to £874 million.
It marks the next stage of the pledge the Prime Minister made on his first day in Downing Street: to stop accepting rough sleeping as a fact of life and unite the country behind a mission to end it.
Urgent action is already under way, with specialist outreach teams and new bedspaces operating in Coventry, and further provision being rolled out in places including Plymouth and Camden over the coming weeks. Backed by the initial £442 million, the programme is focused on ensuring everyone who needs it is offered a route off the streets before Christmas.
Today’s additional investment will ensure that support does not end when winter does, providing continuity for frontline services and helping people move into settled accommodation and rebuild their lives.
But government cannot end rough sleeping alone.
That is why the Prime Minister will today host the first-ever Rough Sleeping Summit at Downing Street, bringing together businesses, charities, housing providers and local leaders to mobilise the resources, expertise and commitment needed to deliver lasting change.
Organisations attending the summit are making significant new commitments. The National Housing Federation will work with housing associations to identify at least 2,000 potential homes and bedspaces, including empty properties that could be brought back into use. Virgin Media O2 will provide practical digital support to frontline organisations, while L’Oréal Group will launch a pioneering Social Salon partnership with St Mungo’s and Haircuts4Homeless.
Together, these commitments will help people access not just a safe place to stay, but the homes, employment opportunities and support they need to build a more secure future.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:
“Rough sleeping isn’t a fact of life. It’s a thing governments either choose to accept or don’t.
“Well I don’t accept it. That’s why we’re doubling funding so that people aren’t just offered a safe route off the streets this winter but have that same support right through the rest of this Parliament too.
“But we can’t do it alone. If we’re going to end rough sleeping, we need every part of society behind us on this. So today we’re bringing together businesses, charities and local leaders in Downing Street to make sure this is a solution that lasts.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey said:
“No one should ever have to sleep rough, which is why we are doubling our investment to more people and providing a chance to break the cycle and end sleeping on the streets of our country – not just this Christmas, but for the years to come.”
Secretary of State for Housing Angela Rayner said:
“This is a big ambition – we know that. But we will not back down from making sure everyone has the offer of a route off the streets this Christmas. This summit is about bringing every part of society together behind that mission. Ending homelessness is not only a moral imperative – it will make our communities and our country better off.”
“The first step is giving people a roof over their head and freedom from the nightly struggle to find somewhere safe to sleep. But Christmas is only the beginning and that’s why we will keep working together to tackle the root causes of homelessness and end rough sleeping for good.”
Today’s Summit brings organisations from across society together to play their part, with new pledges including:
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National Housing Federation working with housing associations to identify at least 2000 potential homes and bedspaces, including empty homes for people moving off the streets, working closely with local authorities.
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Social Bite forming a new partnership with the government to expand its modular supported accommodation model, combining a settled home with intensive and community-based support.
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Salvation Army working with their housing association Salvation Army Homes and public-sector partners to develop social housing, modular accommodation and move-on options, including provision for people with complex needs for whom mainstream accommodation may not be suitable.
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UnLtd / Key Fund partnering with government to help social ventures create sustainable jobs for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
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Virgin Media O2 providing new support around devices, data and connectivity, in partnership with charity Refuge, helping women and their children affected by domestic abuse and experiencing homelessness stay connected to services and support.
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IKEA combining direct funding, advocacy, employment programmes, community partnerships, and customer and public awareness-raising campaigns to tackle both the immediate impacts and underlying causes of homelessness.
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L’Oreal Group launching an innovative ‘Social Salon’ partnership in the UK with St Mungo’s andHaircuts4Homeless, supporting rough sleepers with wellbeing provision.
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Morrisons Foundation pledging to launch the Good Food Fund, providing £500,000 in grants to support communities to tackle food insecurity where it hits hardest, including supporting charities providing relief to people who are sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness, in support of the Prime Minister’s drive.
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ReGenerate launching a partnership with Liverpool City Region, in coordination with the Liverpool Mayor’s new Homelessness Taskforce, to find ways in which businesses can do even more to tackle homelessness such as through driving pathways into employment across the region
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Comic Relief committing further resources to tackle homelessness and housing insecurity, helping to raise public support and awareness in 2027.
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Landsec offering access to its screens at Piccadilly and others across its retail portfolio to amplify homelessness charities and causes nationwide.
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The Faith and Homelessness Collective, mobilising action across a group of 100+ church leaders and leaders of faith-inspired homelessness and housing organisations to support the PM’s instruction to offer everyone a route off the streets this winter and prevention in the long-term.
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Over 30 organisations and investors from the impact economy - representing billions of pounds - signalling support to the PM’s drive and working with Government to bring more investment into move-on homes, support the organisations that help people stay housed, open up jobs and training, and put more money into prevention.
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A coalition of philanthropic funders signalling their commitment to millions of pounds of investment into preventing homelessness, including a £10 million commitment from Julia Rausing Trust, and Henry Smith Foundation providing £500,000 of match funding with Birmingham City Council, to support Greater Change in providing relational support to rough sleepers in the city.