An emergency £10 million fund has been launched by the Deputy Prime Minister to protect rough sleepers from cold weather this winter.

The funding boost will save lives by ensuring rough sleepers have access to a safe and warm bed.

The money will go direct to councils in the highest need and support thousands of the most vulnerable people in society. Last year, 155 people died while sleeping rough on the streets.

In last week’s budget it was announced an additional £233 million will go to tackling all forms of homelessness, taking total spending on reducing homelessness to nearly £1 billion in 2025-26. The government says this money will directly fund critical services to prevent homelessness and support people into secure, stable housing – helping those at risk of homelessness to pay deposits and negotiate with landlords, reducing the overall need for temporary accommodation.

This action follows a sharp rise in rough sleeping, which is nearing record levels. Unprecedented numbers of children are in temporary accommodation and almost 360,000 households approached their council for help with homelessness in the last year.

Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, said: “Anyone forced to sleep rough on our streets represents a complete failure of the broken system we’ve inherited. It’s a national disgrace, and we can’t keep sticking plasters on it.

“We are approaching the harshest months of the year which is why we are taking immediate action to reach anyone sleeping rough and help them off the streets this winter.

The funding is just one branch of the government’s wider drive to fix the housing crisis.  Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will be abolished through the Renters’ Rights Bill, immediately putting an end to one of the leading causes of homelessness.

Alongside this, the government has pledged to deliver what is says is 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.

The full list of funding allocations can be found here.