Announcement made as part of £3.6bn plan to combat homelessness
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced a £52m investment split across two new homelessness funds.
A £37m investment in the ‘ending homelessness in communities’ fund - a three-year grant programme running from 2026-2029 - aims to support the work of small and medium-sized voluntary, community and faith groups delivering day-to-day prevention and support services across England.
The funding will be used to help deliver projects, staffing and building improvements, strengthen community networks and develop “long-term, trauma-informed approaches to ending rough sleeping.”
A further £15m for the ‘long-term rough sleeping innovation programme’ running from April 2026 to 2029 will target 28 local areas, including London, facing the greatest rough sleeping pressures. The cash will support partners and councils to develop more personalised and comprehensive support for people with complex needs.
Rachael Williamson, director of policy, communications and external affairs at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “[The funding] is particularly important for survivors of domestic abuse, who make up a significant proportion of those experiencing homelessness.
“By combining this funding with a focus on prevention, trauma-informed approaches, and partnership working, there is a real opportunity to help more people move from crisis to stability and ensure that everyone can access a safe, secure home.”
The announcements form part of the government’s £3.6bn ‘national plan to end homelessness’.
The plan pledges to halve long-term rough sleeping, end the unlawful use of bed and breakfasts as temporary accommodation for families and prevent more households from becoming homeless in the first place by the end of this parliament.
The funding announcment comes as the MHCLG’s latest rough sleeping snapshot estimated the number of people sleeping rough in England on a single night in autumn 2025 to be 4,793. This represents a new record high, exceeding the previous peak of 4,751 in 2017.
The statistics showed that 43% of all people sleeping rough on a single night are in London and the South East, while the majority of rough sleepers are males from the UK over the age of 26.
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