Mayor secures £34 million to help end rough sleeping in capital

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has secured £34million to cut rough sleeping in the capital.  The Government has devolved greater powers to the Mayor which will help meet his commitment to end rough sleeping across the capital by 2012.

Following the success of the work of the London Delivery Board - created by the Mayor in 2009 to bring together leading charities, London boroughs, the police and other bodies to reduce rough sleeping - the Government wants to strengthen the Mayor's powers to develop a range of pan-London initiatives currently delivered by the Department for Communities and Local Government. 

These initiatives include rescuing more short and long term rough sleepers from the streets, emergency accommodation and cold weather shelters, and helping rough sleepers find and remain in permanent homes. The Mayor also recently announced funding for the No Second Night Out project, which will launch in the Spring.

The new arrangement will see City Hall receiving £8.45 million of devolved funding each year for the four years of the next spending review period (2011-15) and will mean greater flexibility for the Mayor in delivering his ambitious aim of ending rough sleeping in the capital by 2012.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “The Government has rightly decided that London is best placed to deliver the services it needs to end rough sleeping by 2012 and this enables us to build on  the excellent work that already goes on at the borough level. We can now step up a gear in our drive to end rough sleeping in the capital for good.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Government’s decision to move funding responsibilities to the Mayor provides an opportunity to align resources with initiatives already being led by the London Delivery Board (LDB). 

2. The LDB, which is chaired by the Mayor’s Housing Advisor, Richard Blakeway, is the strategic body leading on this and it reflects a determined commitment across all levels of government, the Metropolitan Police and the voluntary sector to end rough sleeping.

3. The following organisations have representatives on the London Delivery Board: City of London, City of Westminster, Communities and Local Government, Crisis, Jobcentre Plus, Greater London Authority, Homeless Link, LB Brent, LB Camden, LB Hammersmith and Fulham, LB Kensington and Chelsea, LB Southwark, LB Tower Hamlets, LB Lambeth, London Development Agency, DWP, Mayor's Office, Metropolitan Police, NHS London, St Mungo’s, Thames Reach, Broadway, United Kingdom Borders Agency, National Offender Management Service.

4. LDB projects such as No Second Night Out, which recently secured £710,000 from DCLG and will be launched in the Spring, demonstrate the Mayor’s ongoing commitment to ending rough sleeping.

5. LDB's project to work with the most entrenched rough sleepers in London has delivered a three quarters reduction in the number of this group sleeping on the streets.

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