Thousands of people facing homelessness will be supported by a new £84 million cash injection to councils up and down the country, the government has announced.

Children and families in temporary accommodation will be prioritised – with the funding to go towards helping households cover the essentials like food, school travel and laundry.

The new funding announcement comes at a time when record numbers of households are in temporary accommodation, including nearly 170,000 children. Levels of rough sleeping have more than doubled since 2010.

Areas with the highest pressures, such as London, will be top of the list for the new funding, which comes on top of the government’s almost £1 billion investment to tackle homelessness this year and includes the largest ever investment in prevention services.

Housing Secretary, Steve Reed said: “Homelessness is a moral stain on our society. Growing numbers of people have been abandoned to sleep rough on the streets and children left in squalid, overcrowded conditions.

“This government will not stand idly by and allow that to continue. We will make different choices. That’s why we are investing £1 billion to give homeless people the security of a roof over their heads and get back on track to end homelessness for good.”

Homelessness Minister, Alison McGovern said: “You can’t have a decent life without a decent home. Whether it’s rough sleeping or sofa surfing or, at its worst, children stuck in B&Bs, homelessness in the UK has been too high for too long.  This has to stop.

“We’re providing extra cash now to address a crisis made over the past decade. Both the government’s £39bn to build social and affordable homes and the Child Poverty Strategy to come will tackle the root causes of this problem, but we need action now to stop homelessness getting any worse.

Matt Downie, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: “This funding is very welcome, especially as winter approaches and with homelessness rising. More people are likely to face the prospect of sleeping on cold streets and need support urgently. More parents will be working out how to help their children do homework from cramped and draughty temporary accommodation.

“We know that targeted support can make a big difference and help people take their first steps out of homelessness.

“We hope this announcement marks another step towards an ambitious homelessness strategy. Alongside a concerted effort to build social housing at scale, and ensuring all parts of Government make their contribution to ending homelessness, we can create a safer and more prosperous future for people and families across the country.”

The £84m cash injection includes:

  • Nearly £70 million for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant. This is flexible funding for 62 local authorities to prevent people sleeping rough and help them stay off the streets. This could mean strengthening local services on offer, partnering with charities and community organisations, providing sustainable accommodation to help people sleeping rough and specialist physical and mental health support workers and treatment
  • Nearly £11 million to help families with children living in temporary accommodation access basic facilities like Wi-Fi, laundry, travel passes for school and uniform, and help pay for food and leisure activities. While the number of children and families living in B&Bs continues to fall under this government, more must be done to get those that need it into safe, secure homes. This funding will be directed to 61 areas with the highest numbers of children in temporary accommodation to make sure that they can have access to facilities they need and support with costs while they are there
  • £3 million increase for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment element of the wider Drug and Alcohol Treatment, Recovery and Improvement Grant. This funding will be directed to 83 local authorities and a pan-London project, targeted at lifesaving support to people with drug or alcohol related issues who are sleeping rough and at risk of homelessness, including those with co-occurring mental health needs
  • An uplift of £200,000 for the Voluntary, Community and Frontline Sector Grant which supports innovative faith and community-led initiatives such as night shelters to reduce the number of people experiencing repeat homelessness.