Peter Lamb MP secures £423k injection to help tackle homelessness in Crawley

Thousands of people facing homelessness will be supported by a new £84 million cash injection to councils up and down the country ahead of winter, with Crawley set to benefit.

Children and families in temporary accommodation in Crawley will be prioritised – with the funding to go towards helping families to cover the essentials like food, school travel and laundry. The new funding unlocked by the Labour government, which will support children to remain in education.

It comes as record levels of households are in temporary accommodation across the country, including nearly 170,000 children. After 14 years of Conservative government, levels of rough sleeping have more than doubled since 2010.

This announcement comes on top of the Labour government’s almost £1 billion investment to tackle homelessness this year and includes the largest ever investment in prevention services, helping councils intervene early and stop homelessness before it happens.

The investment provides tailored services for those experiencing long-term rough sleeping – including mental health support, drug and alcohol treatment and sustainable accommodation – ensuring people get the help they need to rebuild their lives.

Alongside this investment, the government has already announced £950 million to increase the supply of good temporary accommodation, the abolition of ‘no fault’ evictions through the landmark Renters’ Rights Bill, and £39 billion investment to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation.

Peter Lamb, Labour Member of Parliament for Crawley, said:

“The need to fix our broken housing system is one of my biggest motivations in politics. Far too many people are left to struggle across every part of the sector, with the homeless suffering the worse of all.

“We desperately need more housing that local people can afford, but that will take time and in the meantime we need to ensure there is more support available for those who are homeless through no fault of their own, this new funding demonstrates that the Government is committed to providing that support.”

Secretary of State for Housing, Local Government and Communities, Steve Reed MP, said:

“Homelessness is a moral stain on our society. Growing numbers of people have been abandoned to sleep rough on the streets and children left in squalid, overcrowded conditions. “This government will not stand idly by and allow that to continue. We will make different choices.

That’s why we are investing £1 billion to give homeless people the security of a roof over their heads and get back on track to end homelessness for good.”