Burnham writes to councils to house rough-sleeping veterans by Christmas
The Prime Minister is writing personally to every council in England asking for specific plans to offer accommodation to veterans sleeping rough before Christmas. “No one who has served our country should be left to sleep rough on our streets,” Mr Burnham said. The Reducing Veteran Homelessness programme allocates £8.7m to eight organisations, including Veteran Housing Scotland, SSAFA, Launchpad and Wigan Council.
Downing Street links the drive to the £874m extra for rough sleeping announced in last week’s Budget, taking total funding to a record £4.4bn, and to the Armed Forces Covenant. The veterans’ helpline is said to have already supported more than 1,250 ex-service personnel into housing. The pledge lands the weekend after the Resolution Foundation warned that the Bank’s forecast of falling real pay would hit renters and social tenants hardest, and amid Guardian reporting yesterday that early-release prisoners are swelling street homelessness; councils will be asked to deliver with money already committed.