Special report
The London Post
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has launched an ambitious national drive to get every rough sleeper in England off the streets by Christmas, pledging hundreds of millions of pounds to tackle one of the country’s most persistent social problems.
Burnham said the government would provide £442 million for the initiative, including an additional £102 million announced this week. The programme aims to offer every person sleeping rough a route into emergency accommodation and longer-term support.
Speaking during a visit to homelessness services in the north-east, the Prime Minister said government funding alone would not solve the problem and called on councils, charities, faith organisations and community groups to join the effort.
Burnham has drawn on his experience as mayor of Greater Manchester, where his administration introduced the “A Bed Every Night” programme. He has argued that the approach used during the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated that large numbers of people sleeping rough could be brought indoors when government and local services worked together. However, the pledge has been met with scepticism among some homelessness charities and rough sleepers. Critics argue that providing emergency beds is only part of the solution, with affordable housing, mental-health services,
addiction treatment and long-term support also needed to prevent people returning to the scale of the challenge is significant. Government figures recorded 4,793 people sleeping rough in England during the latest annual snapshot, one of the highest figures recorded. In London alone, 3,959 people were recorded sleeping rough between April and June 2026.
Burnham’s record in Greater Manchester is also under scrutiny. While the region introduced several major homelessness initiatives during his time as mayor, reports indicate that rough sleeping subsequently increased, raising questions over whether his national pledge can succeed where earlier ambitions were not fully achieved.
The Prime Minister nevertheless insists that ending rough sleeping is achievable if the government adopts a coordinated approach rather than treating homelessness simply as a housing problem.
With Christmas only months away, Burnham now faces a formidable test: whether his promise can translate into enough emergency beds, permanent homes and support services to make a lasting difference to people living on England’s streets.
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