Mayor activates emergency severe weather plan for the homeless – London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and London Councils has today, 19^th November, activated the pan-London Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) to protect homeless people as temperatures are forecast to fall to 0°C tonight.

This is the first SWEP activation of the 2024/25 winter and will ensure that councils across London, alongside homelessness charities, open additional emergency accommodation for people who are sleeping rough during freezing conditions that could pose a threat to life.

All boroughs in London are committed to the Mayor’s ‘In for Good’ principle, which means no one will be asked to leave accommodation until a support plan is in place to end their rough sleeping, regardless of an increase in temperature. The joined-up approach from the Mayor and London Councils has strengthened the support for homeless people in the capital.

SWEP was active for sixteen days last winter and for 28 nights in the winter of 2022.

Rough sleeping has been rising in London and across the country, with London hit hard by previous cuts to key services and a national slowdown in housebuilding. Latest figures collated by City Hall for 2023/23 show the total number of people sleeping rough in London has continued to rise, with a 20 per cent increase in the number of new rough sleepers compared to the same period last year.

In response to the capital’s worsening rough sleeping crisis, the Mayor has delivered record funding to homelessness charities and service providers and significantly increased City Hall’s rough sleeping budget. At £36.3 million, the budget in 2023/24 is now more than four times the £8.45 million a year it was when Sadiq took office in 2016.

Around 17,600 people have been helped off the capital’s streets since 2016 through the Mayor’s services alone, with 75 per cent staying off the streets for good. In October, Sadiq announced £4.8 million funding for services to help ensure former rough sleepers at 3,500 properties across the capital can support themselves and stay off the streets for good, and a new ‘Homes off the Streets’ initiative, delivered by City Hall, building on his Clearing House scheme.

Sadiq has made clear his ambition to work closely with the new Government, London’s homelessness sector and experts to tackle the rising number of people ending up on the streets. The Mayor’s plan of action, due to be launched next year, will establish a shared mission for ending rough sleeping by 2030, including the scale of funding required and the best mechanisms for achieving this ambition.

Whilst Sadiq is optimistic that rough sleeping can be ended with strong leadership, sufficient resources and the right strategy, he has warned that the scale of the challenge and the legacy of years of underinvestment from the previous Government in housing and support means that things could get worse this winter, before they get better.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “As the cold weather returns, we stand ready to support the most vulnerable in our society. With temperatures dropping below zero across London, I have activated my Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) in partnership with London Councils to make sure anyone seen sleeping rough in freezing conditions is offered a place in emergency accommodation and help to support them to move. I also urge Londoners to report anyone they see sleeping rough to StreetLink via its website to ensure they get the help they need.

“We know we can bring down rough sleeping – but due to the dire legacy left by the previous Government, the reality is that the situation will get worse before it gets better. Providing funding to get vulnerable people off the streets and helping them to start rebuilding their lives is at the centre of our plan, as we work together to build a fairer London for everyone.”

Cllr Grace Williams, London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing & Regeneration, said: “Rough sleeping is dangerous at any time, but in periods of severe weather it poses a very real risk to life. Boroughs are working hard to prepare emergency accommodation and to bring people off the streets during this cold snap. Alongside the Mayor and our partners in the voluntary sector, we will do all we can to keep them safe and to arrange the support they need.”