Westminster Council has been given significant additional funds by the Labour Government to help it tackle the challenges of rough sleeping and temporary accommodation. As the heart of London Westminster has always been the epicentre of rough sleeping in the UK and over recent years we have experienced an enormous rise in Temporary Accommodation pressures along with the rest of inner London due to the housing crisis. In addition to Government grant Westminster invests locally over £8m of its own funds into tackling rough sleeping and last year faced a Temporary Accommodation bill of over £66m as more people were made homeless due to rising private sector rents.

The new funding will cover three main areas:

• £1.9 million to provide additional support to our rough sleeping prevent and outreach services
• £92k for Rough Sleeping drug and alcohol services
• £350k to help improve conditions for children placed in temporary accommodation

Westminster Council Leader Cllr Adam Hug said “Westminster faces real challenges dealing with rough sleeping and homelessness. But with this new funding and Westminster’s £1m increase in its own rough sleeping budget Labour is working together both locally and nationally to help people off the streets and help them rebuild their lives, while doing more to look after families in Temporary Accommodation.”