The success of the ‘Everyone In’ campaign to get rough sleepers off the streets during the first wave of the pandemic has exposed deep gaps in the Government’s approach to tackling the problem, MPs said.
A report by the Public Accounts Committee praised the initiative for “quickly and decisively” housing rough sleepers, saving lives among this vulnerable group.
But the programme also revealed that the numbers of people sleeping on the streets - 37,430 - turned out to be around nine times higher than official estimates.
MPs slammed the Ministry of Housing for still not having a plan to deliver on the Tory election pledge to end rough sleeping by May 2024.
It was also unclear whether the Government would hit its target of providing 3,300 homes for these people by the end of March.
Despite £161m funding, the majority are expected to be placed in leased buildings rather than new housing stock, while the accommodation is only expected to be temporary, with average stays of two years.
Meg Hillier MP, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “‘Everyone In’ was a success with local authorities and voluntary organisations working to help people living on the street into hostels and hotel rooms in a matter of days.
“But the initiative has exposed the scale of the task the Ministry of Housing faces to meet the Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping in three years.
“Rough sleeping was a massive public health issue long before the pandemic, and much larger than Government has previously publicly acknowledged.
“MHCLG now has a huge opportunity to capitalise on this success in the pandemic response and begin to reverse its long record of failed and abandoned housing targets and policies.
“People without recourse to public funds are still left exposed and risk losing support. Support for these people is urgent.”
A MHCLG spokeswoman said: “We reject the unfounded criticisms in this report - we have always been clear that the annual count represents the number of rough sleepers on a single night and this report misuses different data to provide an inaccurate picture.
“Funding for these Government programmes is allocated to ensure it reaches everyone considered homeless over the course of a full year.
“However, we welcome the recognition of the significant achievements of the ongoing Everyone In programme which has protected thousands of people from Covid-19.
“We’re providing over £700 million this year and £750 million next year to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, and are working with partners to learn any lessons from the pandemic and update our ambitious plans to end rough sleeping for good.”
