homelessness
FILE PHOTO: The government is introducing new measures in a bid to end rough sleeping.
Adam Holloway once told fellow MPs: "Sleeping rough is a lot more comfortable than going on exercise when I was in the Army".


Comment: Army exercise comes with rations and is for a limited time only so the comparison is ridiculous.


A Conservative MP who claimed "many people choose to be on the street" will be given specific responsibility for tackling rough sleeping.

Gravesham MP Adam Holloway is to be appointed as a parliamentary aide to Robert Jenrick, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, as part of a package of government measures to end rough sleeping.

Labour branded his appointment to the rough sleeping role "a shameful disrespect to those living and dying on our streets".

During a parliamentary debate in 2018, the former British Army captain recalled how he had recently spent a number of nights outside in London to see first-hand what it was like to sleep rough in the capital.

He said: "If someone is fit and of sound mind, there are all sorts of services, although not quite 24 hours a day, that make it possible to sleep out.


Comment: These are the same services that have seen their budgets slashed following well over a decade of government imposed cuts and austerity.


"To be honest, sleeping rough in central London is a lot more comfortable than going on exercise when I was in the Army.

"For those who are mentally ill, drug addicted, old or personality disordered, it is a very different thing.

"We have to accept that some people are able to sleep rough in our cities because there are the resources to do so."

He added: "We will get nowhere in solving the problem and getting to the people who are most needy if we just continue to talk about the homeless and feel sorry for everybody."

In the same debate, Mr Holloway claimed that begging is "part of the problem" and told MPs: "An able-bodied person can make quite a lot of money from begging on the streets of London."

Mr Holloway also said there was a "correlation between immigration and the rising number of street homeless".

In 1991, while working as a journalist after leaving the Army, Mr Holloway spent three months on the streets of London as part of a documentary series.

Labour's shadow housing secretary John Healey MP said: "It's a shameful disrespect to those living and dying on our streets for Boris Johnson to appoint someone to government who thinks rough sleeping is a lifestyle choice.

"The Conservatives are in denial about the scale of street homelessness, with new figures showing that the government's own statistics are seriously misleading the public about the number of people sleeping rough.

"After ten years of failure, the Conservatives should adopt Labour's plan to end rough sleeping for good."

Boris Johnson is committing an extra £236m to help get rough sleepers off the street and is also appointing an independent adviser to lead an urgent review into the causes of rough sleeping.

The government action comes ahead of Mr Jenrick's department releasing the latest figures on rough sleeping in England on Thursday morning.

Homelessness charities welcomed the government action, but also called for the cash to "translate into real homes".

The prime minister is set to visit a homelessness charity on Thursday to highlight the new government measures.

"It is simply unacceptable that we still have so many people sleeping on the streets, and I am absolutely determined to end rough sleeping once and for all," Mr Johnson said ahead of the visit.

"We must tackle the scourge of rough sleeping urgently, and I will not stop until the thousands of people in this situation are helped off the streets and their lives have been rebuilt."

The £236m new funding being announced by the government will go towards offering "move on" accommodation - known as a stepping-stone between hostels and independent living - for up to 6,000 rough sleepers and those at immediate risk of rough sleeping.

It will be based on the "Housing First" model employed by countries such as Finland, which is the only EU member state to have seen a decline in homelessness in recent years.

Dame Louise Casey, who has previously headed a series of reviews into issues such as child sexual exploitation and integration, will provide the government with advice on additional action required to end rough sleeping by the end of the parliament in 2024.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of homelessness charity Crisis, said: "As the most brutal and devastating form of homelessness, it's right that the prime minister is focusing on ending rough sleeping and dedicating funding to this.

"But ultimately, we need this money to translate into real homes rather than paying to keep people homeless in hostels and night shelters."

Polly Neate, chief executive of charity Shelter, said: "Most people are tipped into homelessness simply because there are not enough affordable, safe, and secure homes in this country.

"The bottom line is people can't afford to live anywhere - a problem made infinitely worse by a dire lack of social homes and cuts to housing benefit.

"Emergency measures to get people off the streets quickly and housing first pilots can only go so far, if you don't have the stable homes to back them up."