Gedling Borough Council gets £539,000 to tackle rough sleeping

Gedling Borough Council has been awarded 539,923 to tackle rough sleeping.

The cash comes from the government’s £654 million Homelessness Prevention Grant fund.

The money will be paid over two years from April 2023.

The Government say extra funding has resulted in a sustained decrease in those rough sleeping on a single night, with levels 49% lower in 2021 than the peak in 2017, according to the official snapshot, and over half a million households have been supported to secure accommodation since the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act.

Gedling’s MP, Tom Randall said he was ‘delighted’ by the announcement.

He said: “To reduce homelessness further, I am delighted that Gedling Borough Council has been allocated £539,923 of the Government’s £654 million Homelessness Prevention Grant.

“£267,833 will be paid to the Council in 2023/24 and £272,090 in 2024/25 to support them to deliver services to prevent and tackle homelessness across Gedling.”

This ringfenced grant will be provided upfront each year and can be used flexibly by Gedling Borough Council to deliver their homelessness and rough sleeping strategies – by offering financial support for people to find a new home, providing temporary accommodation, working with landlords to prevent evictions or other measures to prevent homelessness.

This funding builds on the £366 million (which includes the £50 million top-up from 04 December 2022) of Homelessness Prevention Grant funding provided to local authorities in 2022/23.