Council given £4.7m to tackle rough sleeping

A Dorset council has been given nearly £5m in government funding to help people sleeping rough find safe accommodation.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council was awarded £4.7m as part of a new national rough sleeping programme.

It builds on £340m announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham when he took office, with a further £100m added this month, bringing the total to £442m over three years.

The council said the money would fund supported housing and longer-term homes, as well as wraparound services to help people rebuild their lives.

Announcing the wider programme, Burnham said ending rough sleeping was "a moral mission" and pledged to offer everyone sleeping rough in England a route off the streets by Christmas.

Councillor Kieron Wilson, cabinet member for housing, said: "Nobody should have to sleep rough, and we share the government's ambition to ensure people receive the support they need.

"This funding will strengthen work already taking place across BCP."

Wilson said the council's homelessness partnership had supported more than 1,500 households, achieved a 72% homelessness prevention success rate, and helped deliver an 18% reduction in rough sleeping.

He said services needed to reflect the different ways homelessness affects people, with women often "hidden from view" and others requiring specialist support.

"While safe accommodation is critical, lasting change comes from combining housing with the right support around it," he said, citing health services, employment support and recovery programmes as examples.

The government said the money formed part of a wider commitment of more than £4bn to end homelessness over the next three years.