Coronavirus: Northampton rough sleepers will return, charity boss fears

Robin Burgess says housing people in hotels during the pandemic was "very much to be welcomed" but has concerns about what happens next

The head of a town homelessness charity said he had "grave concerns" many rough sleepers would return to the streets when a government aid scheme ended.

Rough sleepers across England were given accommodation, many in hotels, as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

But Robin Burgess, chief executive of Northampton's Hope Centre, said he feared many from the town would soon be sleeping rough once again.

A government spokesman said it was "committed to ending rough sleeping".

Councils were given £3.2m in March to provide emergency shelter for homeless people, but earlier this month, the Manchester Evening News said a leaked report showed ministers had "quietly pulled the plug" on the "Everyone In" scheme.

Housing minister Robert Jenrick subsequently announced plans for 6,000 new housing units nationally.

'Heroic' efforts

A fortnight ago, the Revd Sue Faulkner, chairwoman of Northampton's Single Homelessness Forum, said none of those accommodated in hotels in the town would "fall through the cracks", saying that work was taking place to re-house up to 40 people with private sector landlords.

Mr Burgess, whose Hope Centre is a forum member along with Northampton Borough Council, Churches Together and a number of charities, said efforts to move homeless people into 100 hotel rooms, block-booked until June 12, had been "heroic".

But he said that as the "Everyone In" scheme came to an end, there was no guarantee people would not return to rough sleeping.

"We have grave concerns a significant number will be back on the streets. Given there are perhaps 25 already, it is not unrealistic to say there may be 50," he said.

He welcomed Mr Jenrick's announcement, but said it had not specified when and where money or housing would be available.

He said he did not think it "would be a panacea" or signal "the end of rough sleeping".

Fellow forum member Fr Oliver Coss, rector of All Saints' Church, said he feared "a second coronavirus peak".

He said: "If that happened, would we have an 'Everybody In' again?"

The government has announced plans for 6,000 new housing units across the country

In response to Mr Burgess, the forum said there were "different estimates" of the number of people requiring help, while "people may have returned to the streets temporarily or appeared since lockdown".

In a statement, it said "funding is going to be needed to continue the progress made" and that representations were being made to the government and other funding bodies.

"We need to maintain pressure so the momentum of this initial tranche of government funding is not lost," it added.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "Any suggestion we are rowing back on our commitment to support rough sleepers is untrue".

He said councils, supported by government, had ensured "90% of rough sleepers known to councils at the start of the pandemic have been offered accommodation".

The government said councils must "continue to provide safe accommodation".

It has pledged more than £3bn for local authorities to deal with the after-effects of the pandemic.

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