Government Plans to Tackle Homelessness

email to a friend | user comments

Published: 20 November 2006

Government Plans to Tackle Homelessness

Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has recently made a speech about Government plans to tackle homelessness.

Welcoming the announcement, Jenny Edwards, chief executive of Homeless Link, said:

“We’ve come a long way since the days when the most many homeless people could hope for was a bowl of soup and a bed for a night.

Services are increasingly focused on helping people turn their lives around. This announcement moves things further forward.

We warmly welcome a move to ensure that hostels nationally become places of change - providing programmes of positive activities including skills and learning. This builds on and supports the excellent work many of our member organisations are already doing.

We also welcome the important pledge to take young people out of unsuitable Bed and Breakfast accommodation and into more supportive lodgings.

These and the sort of family mediation schemes now proposed by the Government have already proven their value where they are currently offered.

The important steps announced today will reduce homelessness and we applaud them as positive moves towards ending homelessness in this country.

However, we will also be looking the forthcoming comprehensive spending review for confirmation that the Government is committed to ending this social blight forever.”

Homeless Link this month launched a campaign to end homelessness in the UK by 2022.

Further information:

Ruth Kelly’s full speech

DCLG – Tackling Homelessness

Mayor supports challenge

Ending Homelessness: from Vision to Action

Supporting People programme

Alone in London