Borough councils across east London have been given six-figure grants to help tackle homelessness.
The government announced today (10th October) an £84 million boost for homelessness and rough-sleeping services across the UK.
Havering Council will receive £158,216, while Redbridge will get substantially more at £252,431.
It will help improve support for families living in temporary accommodation and provide better treatment and recovery services for people sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness, the government says.
The 32 borough councils in London will receive a combined £35m, almost half the total amount.
£28.4m will come from the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant, and a further £7.15m will go towards children and families in temporary accommodation.
A spokesperson for Havering said: “Havering Council has received a government homelessness grant of approximately £158,000 to support children experiencing homelessness.
Image: LDRS
“The guidance from government has set out recommendations for the grant to be used on a wide range of support for our young residents living in emergency accommodation, including school equipment costs, improving communal spaces to enable children to complete homework, and access to play and leisure facilities.
“We are committed to creating environments that support the mental and physical well-being of our families experiencing homelessness.”
In Redbridge, the quarter-of-a-million in funding will be broken down into £227,905 for supporting children and £24,526 for treating drug and alcohol addictions in rough sleepers. In Havering, the full £158,216 will go towards supporting children.
Homelessness is one of the greatest strains on councils’ coffers, alongside social care. Due to a shortage of housing, authorities are often forced to house at-risk families in expensive hotels and bed-and-breakfast-style accommodation.
Both Havering and Redbridge have frequently complained about “unfair” funding formulas, which they say are outdated, giving councils too little money to operate.
In February, Havering was forced to borrow £88m to cover a black hole in its budget. Last month, top Redbridge councillors warned of a budget deficit of £43m. Both councils pointed to homelessness as a major factor.
The announcement of the funding coincided with World Homelessness Day.
Redbridge was approached for comment but did not respond in time for publication.
