Manchester Receives ยฃ3 โMillion Funding Boost to Combat Homelessnessโฃ on World โHomelessness Day
Manchester, October 10, 2024 – Manchester City โฃCouncilโฃ has welcomed a notable ยฃ3โข million funding injection from the Government, announced today on Worldโ Homelessness Day,โข to bolster its ongoing efforts to prevent and address homelessness across the city. The funding, allocated for the 2025/26 and โข2026/27 financial years, recognizes the sustained pressuresโ faced by Manchester โคand โขother areas grappling with housingโค insecurity.
The Council intends to maximize the impact ofโ theโ funds through a multi-prongedโข approach. Approximately ยฃ550,000 willโค be โdistributed as grants to โขorganizations within the city’s Voluntary, Community and Faith sector, directly supporting individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Details of these grant allocations will be released shortly.
Further investment will focus on assisting individuals currently in temporary accommodation to transition into settled homes. A portion of the funding will also be usedโข to adapt existing temporary accommodation to better meet the needs of residents with physicalโฃ disabilities and otherโ specific requirements, addressing a growing demand.
The fundingโฃ will also supportโ vulnerable populations, including โฃ180 care leaversโฃ who will be provided with housing in shared rented accommodations, preventing them from facing homelessness.
Efforts โto optimize existing social housing โขstockโ will also be prioritized, includingโ a crackdown onโ tenancyโฃ fraud, initiatives to โbring empty homes back into use, and support for residents to “right size” their housing,โ freeing up larger properties for families in need.
Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig emphasized the Council’s commitment to tackling โthe crisis: “Tackling the homelessness crisis is one of Manchester’s biggest priorities and – workingโค with our community partners across the city – we are turning the tide. We โwelcome today’s extra funding boost from โGovernment which, nationally, adds an extra ยฃ84 million to the billion that was committed earlier inโ the year.”
Cllr Craig highlighted the Council’s progress, stating, “In Manchester, we are working tirelessly to prevent people from becomingโ homeless in the first place through early help, andโ to ensure anyone who does become homeless gets the support they need to build new lives in settled homes. It’s good to see that we are bucking the national trend by reducing the number of families โคin temporary accommodation and effectively eradicating โคthe use of B&Bs for families.”
She added, “A big part of our efforts are focussed on building a record number of council, social and genuinely affordable homes for โคManchester people. We are alsoโค determined to make the best use we can of the 70,000 council and social homes we already have.”
Acknowledging the collaborative nature โof โthe work, Cllrโ Craig concluded, โ”Homelessness remains a big โคchallenge and one we cannot tackle on our own. On World Homelessness Day we pay tribute to โฃthe amazing charity and voluntary groups in our city who share our mission to end avoidable homelessness โin Manchester.”