Emergency funding for region's rough sleepers

Sheffield will receive £241,000 from a new winter homelessness fund

Councils across Yorkshire and the Humber are to share more than £1m of funding from the government to prevent deaths of rough sleepers this winter.

Sheffield will get the biggest amount of a regional winter homelessness emergency fund announced by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

Sheffield will receive £241,000, Leeds £155,000, York £87,000 and Bradford £48,000.

Sixteen areas in total across Yorkshire, the Humber and Lincolnshire will benefit from the funding.

Announcing the funding on the same day as she chaired the first cross-government group on tackling homelessness, Rayner pledged to end “sticking-plaster” measures, and instead tackle the root cause of the problem.

The boost for Yorkshire councils is part of a £10m national emergency fund which the government says will protect rough sleepers by paying for access to a safe and warm bed and prevent unnecessary deaths like the 155 reported last year on UK streets.

Homeless tents at the Forster Square railway arches in Bradford, pictured before a recent plan was announced to close off the spaces

Latest research by the Museum of Homelessness, published last month, found that rough sleeper deaths increased by 42% in 2023.

However when numbers of people considered homeless in other ways, such as those in shelters and temporary accommodation were taken into account, the numbers were even higher.

The charity's Dying Homeless report found that 1,474 people died homeless in 2023, a 12% increase on the previous year.

In Yorkshire and the Humber alone, the figure was more than 100, with the 5% increase considered "statistically significant" for the region.

'Unsustainable'

In Sheffield, charities said they had seen record increases in the numbers of people sleeping rough.

The Archer Project said it had never been busier, with the number of people seeking support reaching "unsustainable" levels.

Chief executive Tim Renshaw said: "Numbers have gone through the roof.

"We used to just about cope cooking 15,000 meals a year. We're expecting to cook 28,000 this year."

Housing Minister Rushanara Ali said rough sleeping was on the rise across the country but Sheffield was one of the areas most in need of the funding.

“We can see there are more pressures in areas like Sheffield so it is really important these areas get the additional support they need."

The city is one of six places to benefit from the Prince of Wales' Homewards charitable fund.

The government said the new winter emergency fund would go direct to council areas considered to be in the highest need.

Rayner said: “Anyone forced to sleep rough on our streets represents a complete failure of the broken system we've inherited.

"It's a national disgrace, and we can’t keep sticking plasters on it.

“We are approaching the harshest months of the year which is why we are taking immediate action to reach anyone sleeping rough and help them off the streets this winter."

Last week in the Budget, it was announced an additional £233m would go to tackling all forms of homelessness.

Ministers said this would take total spending on reducing homelessness to nearly £1bn in 2025-26, which includes direct support for rough sleepers as well as helping those at risk of homelessness to pay deposits and negotiate with landlords, reducing the overall need for temporary accommodation.

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