Coronavirus: All rough sleepers in England should be housed by weekend, government says

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. In a letter sent to homelessness managers and rough sleeping coordinators across the country, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We are all redoubling our efforts to do what we possibly can at this stage to ensure that everybody is inside and safe by this weekend, and we stand with you in this. “The government has committed to ending rough sleeping by 2025 – this proves it can be done in 2020 if we make it the priority it deserves to be.” Following the announcement, Crisis also called on the government to suspend all evictions from Home Office asylum accommodation and restrictions on housing benefit, allowing councils to rehouse people with no recourse to public funds. Chief executive Rick Henderson added: “What will be key in the coming months is that people brought in are not returned to the streets, but that the funding is in place to provide suitable housing and support to enable those rough sleeping to end their homelessness for good.” Many rough sleepers have already been accommodated thanks to a targeted £3.2m emergency fund, but up to 45,000 “self-contained accommodation spaces” are needed to house the UK’s homeless population. Under the government’s national action plan, offices are also expected to be converted into emergency safe spaces for the UK’s homeless.​ Figures released last week revealed that, along with rough sleepers, a total of 62,280 families are currently living in temporary accommodation in England – 5,400 of those with shared facilities, placing them at higher risk of infection from coronavirus.