Richard has welcomed an extra £1,646,310 for Bedford Borough and £512,801 for Central Bedfordshire to tackle rough sleeping in Bedfordshire.
The funding will come from the £203 million Rough Sleeping Initiative to help people off the streets and will be allocated to councils across England to support vital projects such as shelters, specialist mental health or addiction services and targeted support to help rough sleepers off the streets for good. It will be used by councils, charities and other local groups to fund up to 14,500 bed spaces and 2,700 support staff across England.
Analysis of the Rough Sleeping Initiative – now in its fourth year – shows that the programme has reduced rough sleeping by almost a third compared to areas which have not taken part in the programme.
Building on the past success of the programme, funding has almost doubled this year and will provide additional support to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Richard Fuller, MP for North East Bedfordshire, said:
Ending rough sleeping is a personal mission for the Prime Minister and we have made huge progress since he came into No.10, reducing rough sleeping by 43%.
This additional funding of £1,646,310 for Bedford Borough and £512,801 for Central Bedfordshire - the biggest ever investment under the Rough Sleeping Initiative - will provide vital services to those who need it most, as part of our drive to end rough sleeping for good
