Coronavirus exposed 'much larger' rough sleeping issue, says

Coronavirus exposed 'much larger' rough sleeping issue, says committee

A government scheme to xo house rough sleepers during the pandemic "exposed the scale" of the issue, say MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee praised the Everyone In initiative, brought in due to Covid, which took over 37,000 people off the streets by January 2021.

But they said the number was nearly nine times official estimates of rough sleepers, showing a "much larger" issue than the government had "acknowledged".

The government said it had "ambitious plans" to end rough sleeping.

However, the committee expressed concern that the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government "still does not have a plan" to achieve this commitment.

In January, the National Audit Office called on the government to review its rough sleeping strategy in light of the figures from Everyone In, claiming it was "out of step" with the problem.

Everyone In was an emergency scheme launched in March 2020 as the pandemic hit the country.

It saw local councils in England given a share of £3.2m to provide accommodation for rough sleepers, often in hotels or hostels.

The programme has received widespread praise for helping the vulnerable group and protecting them from coronavirus - with the committee saying it helped avert more than 20,000 infections.

But the group of MPs said it also showed how serious a problem rough sleeping was in the country.