On 2 May, the Government announced that a new taskforce will work on the next phase of support for rough sleepers during the pandemic. The precise detail is not yet clear. The Government says it will work with local authorities to secure ‘long-term, safe accommodation once the immediate crisis is over’. This is a very positive commitment by the Government to those currently in temporary accommodation.

At the same time, the Government’s commitment needs to go further, to meet the needs of our most vulnerable members of society:

1.       The Housing Secretary says that under 10% of ‘rough sleepers known to councils at the beginning of the crisis’ (about 600 people) have not yet been offered accommodation where they can self-isolate. It is not clear that the Government is committing to find long-term, safe accommodation for those 600 people.

2.       The Government has not announced what provision is going to be made for people who were found temporary accommodation, but who left, for various reasons. People in distress deserve multiple chances to accept help.

3.       The Government refers to those rough sleepers ‘known at the beginning of the crisis’, but the figures are contested every year. In the most recent annual Government count of rough sleepers, 40% of local authorities chose to submit estimates rather than count real people. Therefore, some rough sleepers may not have been ‘known’ and they may be left out.

4.       The Government does not acknowledge that some people have become street homeless after lockdown started. What long-term, safe accommodation, will they be offered?

5.       From 27 March onwards, the Government has been reaching out to rough sleepers in an assertive way. The Housing Secretary states, ‘This national effort has potentially helped to protect thousands of lives.’ Why does the Government not extend this successful, assertive approach to protect the lives of future rough sleepers, after the pandemic?

There is a lot to applaud in the Government’s actions for rough sleepers in the last 5 weeks. But there is more to be done. It will be excellent to learn more, when the taskforce’s work is defined in public. It is important that the above 5 kinds of rough sleepers are not left out from receiving help into safe, long-term accommodation. All rough sleepers need and deserve assistance.

We know that the longer a person is street homeless, the more likely they are to suffer mental and physical health problems and other negative consequences, as a result.

Please do continue to share the petition link, to keep this issue high on the Government’s agenda. Together, we can press for a society where no one sleeps on the street.