Homelessness services reel from 10% cut in grant

The impact of the funding cut – initially decided last December – is being felt most keenly by front-line services, with Newham council in east London saying its prevention services would be scaled back.

The cut has hit some of London’s 33 boroughs harder than others with funding for Greenwich and Newham falling by 37% to £63,000 and by 20% to £200,000 respectively.

It comes despite recent government pledges to place greater emphasis on tackling homelessness and temporary accommodation.

In December, deputy prime minister John Prescott announced additional funding of £152m for homelessness services (HT 17 December, page 11).

Martin Cheeseman, director of housing for Brent council, which has been affected by a 5% cut in funding to £740,000, said that although councils had met the government target last March of no longer housing families in bed and breakfast accommodation, London should continue to receive increased funding.

“A £20m grant for London is very minuscule to deal with homeless people. More money should be fuelled into the existing services and a reallocation of the existing grant would be necessary to cover more relevantly the needs of the boroughs,” he said.

A spokeswoman for homelessness charity Shelter said: “This 10% cut in homelessness strategy funding puts at risk many of the homelessness prevention and tenancy sustainment services that London councils have developed over the past three years.”

At a session on homelessness on Tuesday as part of the London Assembly’s Commission on London Governance, councils and housing associations called for more cooperation.

Mark Grant, the director of services and deputy chief executive at homelessness charity Broadway, said: “We need some sort of pan-London strategy to solve problems related to homelessness … It doesn’t make sense not to have an overall authority. The target is too great for one borough to meet.”

Kamal Faizi, divisional director at Newham council, said that the cut would hit the prevention services the borough provided.

He said: “The question is how we can support a high level of homeless people. It is very important to us that we try to share the burden all across London.”

An ODPM spokeswoman said that the 2005/6 grant reflected London’s success in cutting the numbers of rough sleepers and families in B&Bs.

Cut from back

“Past investment to bring about these reductions, especially that which reduced the use of expensive B&B hotels, should have brought significant ongoing savings for London boroughs, which we hope they are now re-investing in homelessness provision.”