Andy Burnham has admitted that government funding “may not fully be enough” to achieve his goal of offering a place to stay to every rough sleeper by Christmas. The mayor made the admission during a visit to the north-east of England, where he issued a “rallying call” for communities to get behind his plan.
Burnham calls on community and voluntary sectors
Speaking in Newcastle, Burnham said: “The government money itself may not fully be enough. So I am saying, putting the call out to community and voluntary organisations – we’re at one here in Newcastle today, doing fantastic work. But we’re saying to the wider community, voluntary, and faith sector: come on, let’s get behind this. Let’s show what Britain can do when we all pull in the same direction.”
He added: “We did it in the pandemic, we can do it again, and it’s a rallying call, really, that I’m putting out there today with a lot of government money behind it.”
Defence of previous record on homelessness
Burnham also defended his previous record on homelessness in Greater Manchester. He stated: “We did bring the numbers right down, but because we were the only area providing a high level of support, more people started to travel and it became difficult.”
The mayor’s comments come as he seeks to mobilise voluntary and faith-based organisations alongside government funding to address rough sleeping before the Christmas period. The initiative aims to ensure no one is left on the streets during the festive season, though the precise amount of government money allocated was not specified in his remarks.
