8th November 2024
The government has announced a £10 million emergency support fund to address the rough sleeping crisis this winter. With nearly £1 billion allocated to combat homelessness next year and a £500 million investment in affordable housing, Labour is committed to a sustainable, long-term strategy to end homelessness.
The Royal Borough of Kingston is set to receive a substantial amount of the funding, with services in South West London receiving £156,000.
This funding comes alongside news that Sadiq Khan is quadrupling support from City Hall, which will go a long way in helping people get off the streets this winter.
At the recent Health Overview Panel, the dire state of Kingston’s housing crisis was laid bare, due to years of local council failure to invest in social housing. Many working families are struggling to afford housing costs. There are over thousand households in temporary accommodation, including a staggering 905 children, many of whom the council cannot house within the borough itself.
A local resident told us: “We’re being evicted, and when we looked for a new place, the estate agent laughed at us when we said we could afford: ‘You won’t get anything for that around here.’ he told us. The local Lib Dem councillor has been useless.”
This funding comes at the right time to avert the impending crisis facing Kingston this winter.
Turning away from the sticking-plaster politics of the last Tory government, Labour is building a sustainable strategy to ensure that everyone has access to safe and secure housing. This emergency funding, the ending of no-fault evictions, and increasing wages for the lowest paid in this country are just the first steps to building a fairer Britain.
Alongside this, the government will deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housing in a generation, with £500 million in new funding for the Affordable Homes Programme delivering up to 5,000 new social homes. Councils will also be able to keep 100% of receipts from all Right to Buy sales, enabling them to re-invest in more social housing available for families. More here.
