Government announce £654 million funding boost to protect from homelessness

All councils in England will receive their share of £654m of funding from the Homelessness Prevention Grant, supporting council’s to prevent homelessness and reduce rough sleeping.

Councillor Damian Talbot, Executive Member for Public Health, Prevention and Wellbeing, said:

We take the issue of Homelessness very seriously in Blackburn with Darwen and have successfully been reducing the number of people on our streets. This funding will mean that we can continue to make sure we can support those vulnerable residents to make sure we can prevent the risk of homelessness.

Blackburn with Darwen have been allocated £640,000 over 2 years from April 2023. The funding will be used to help prevent people becoming homeless, bolstering the range of support already available in the borough for both families and individuals.

Mark Warren, the Council’s Strategic Director of Adults and Health, said:

We welcome the funding announcement and the money we will receive through the Homelessness Prevention Grant will be put to very good use to fund a range of programmes.  As we know Homelessness can affect anyone and the Councils aim is to help as many vulnerable local residents as possible, especially in these very challenging times.

Councils can use the money flexibly based on their knowledge of the local area and the local housing market.

For further support on homelessness or if you are at risk of being homeless call the council’s support line 01254 585444.