An increase in funding to help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping will help address one of the biggest challenges facing York and other areas, the council’s housing spokesperson said.
City of York Council housing executive member Cllr Michael Pavlovic said a rise in Government homelessness prevention funding to almost £1m would help with efforts to get those struggling into homes sooner.
He added it was also welcome in light of cost of living and housing affordability pressures which continue to fuel the rise in homelessness seen locally and nationally.
It comes as Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said almost £1bn in funding for councils for 2025-6 aimed to turn the tide against a spiralling homelessness crisis.
It follows the unveiling of emergency funding worth around £10m to help rough sleepers this winter. York received £87,000.
The Government has stated the almost £1bn for the next financial year will go towards frontline services to get rough sleepers off the street and to accommodate those facing homelessness.
Councils will also be able to channel funds into ‘Housing First’ schemes which aim to get people into homes with support rather than leaving them in temporary accommodation like hostels.
York council approved a new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Prevention Strategy earlier this month which takes a Housing First approach following positive results from schemes elsewhere.
Part of the approach is set to see the council try to boost its stock of single bed to 250 over the next five years.
The council is set to receive almost £978,000 in homelessness prevention funding from the almost £1bn announced on Wednesday.
Hundreds affected
It comes alongside £599,298 in rough sleeping prevention and relief funding and £44,000 to accommodate those living on the streets.
Government figures showed 55 people slept rough in York in September, up four per cent in a year, with 20 of them having done so long-term.
A total of 736 households were found to need homelessness prevention or relief support from the council in 2023-4, compared to 780 the year before.
Nationally, a record 123,100 homeless households including around 160,000 children are currently living in temporary accommodation such as bed and breakfasts.
The use of such emergency accommodation, many of which lack basic facilities including for proper cooking, has doubled in three years according to official figures.
Its use has also added strain to council finances, with York spending more than three quarters of a million pounds on temporary accommodation in the year up to March.
Cllr Pavlovic said he welcomed the Government’s pledge to turn the tide against homelessness and rough sleeping.
He added the council would use the funds to help those facing homelessness keep their homes or find a new one or put them in temporary accommodation where necessary.
The Labour executive member said: “Like most local authorities, we are facing pressures in the supply of affordable homes and on the cost of living.
“Numbers of people who face losing their home or who are homeless are increasing which is why we are committed to delivering 100 per cent affordable homes on council housing land either as a council, or in partnership with social housing providers.
“Homelessness remains one of the biggest challenges currently facing local councils, so this funding boost is very welcome.”