The government has quietly wound down its ‘Everyone In’ policy which saw homeless people housed in hotels during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Manchester Evening News, hundreds of homeless people who have been offered accommodation during the crisis must now be moved out after ministers pulled the plug on the programme.
A leaked report reveals the Ministry for Communities, Housing and Local Government has now ‘drawn a line’ under the scheme and has told councils it will no longer be funded, although no ministerial statement has been made to that effect.
It comes after communities secretary Robert Jenrick announced the £3.2 million funding package at the end of March for councils to help homeless people to self isolate.
At the time, he said: “Public safety and protecting the most vulnerable people in society from coronavirus is this government’s top priority”.
Writing in The London Economic, Paul Delaney said the Covid-19 crisis showed that where there’s a will, there’s a way when it comes to homelessness.
He said we now need to “ensure that the positive responses to homelessness that grew from the crisis are built on and made permanent”.
Phil Smith also pushed for post-crisis action, saying the pandemic will “force people to evaluate political priorities towards the care of the homeless and the most vulnerable in our society”.
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