£500k funding secured to tackle homelessness in Preston

The Government is providing councils with an £84 million cash boost to help prevent homelessness and support families this winter. Immediate help for children and families in temporary accommodation is at heart of this funding.

As winter approaches and temperatures plummet, more people are likely to face the prospect of sleeping on cold streets and they urgently need support.

The scourge of homelessness and rough-sleeping increased in our area under the last Government. I know from speaking with homelessness charities in Preston, that tackling this issue is a priority. I am pleased this Government is taking action and providing the resources needed to address this crisis in our City.

This funding will support councils with the highest pressures to deliver a range of services to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping. This includes strengthening partnerships and services with voluntary, community, and faith sector organisations, supporting children experiencing homelessness and funding evidence-based drug and alcohol treatment for vulnerable individuals.

This is in addition to the first steps the Government have already taken to getting back on track to ending homelessness, including making over £1 billion investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year (2025/26).

The funding also goes alongside wider support to help for families trapped in temporary accommodation, to drive up housing standards and build more social and affordable homes.

Whilst this is very welcome news for Preston and demonstrates that this Labour Government is seriously committed to tackling homelessness, I urge Preston City Council to work closely with homeless charities in Preston, such as the Foxton Centre, who are at the forefront of dealing with people who find themselves homeless, for whatever reason.

Homelessness Minister, Alison McGovern MP, said: “You can’t have a decent life without a decent home. Whether it’s rough sleeping or sofa surfing or, at its worst, children stuck in B&Bs, homelessness in the UK has been too high for too long.

“We’re providing extra cash now to address a crisis made over the past decade. Both the government’s £39bn to build social and affordable homes and the Child Poverty Strategy to come will tackle the root causes of this problem, but we need action now to stop homelessness getting any worse.”