Rough sleepers across the country will be supported off the streets and into long-term homes with £174 million funding boost, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced today (11 February 2022).

The funding, which forms part of the government’s Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, will create over 2,900 move-on homes between 2021 and 2024 as part of the £433 million programme.

All housing provided includes refurbished flats from unlettable homes in disrepair and new build properties, converted hotels and schools.

The accommodation will be provided with specially-trained support workers – often from homelessness charities such as St. Mungo’s – who will be offering treatment for mental health issues and substance misuse to help long-term rough sleepers and newly homeless people remain in their tenancies and into employment or training.

Councils across England are invited to bid for funding for the remainder of the programme as part of a total investment of £433 million in safe, long-term, stable and supported housing for rough sleepers.

Eddie Hughes, Minister for Housing and Rough Sleeping said:

One person sleeping rough on our streets is one too many, and more is needed to help people who find themselves in this terrible situation.

That’s why I’m delighted to announce this funding for the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, which is supporting people to access housing and, crucially, specialist support to rebuild their lives and become independent again.

This government does not just want to make a dent in the number of rough sleepers – we want to end rough sleeping for good, and through innovative programmes like this we’re on track to ensure no one is forced to spend a night on the streets.

The government is working closely with leading housing associations and local authorities to fast-track thousands of homes and bring rough sleepers off the streets for good.

Areas benefitting from the funding include:

• Bedford: The council will purchase 10 open market properties that will provide independent living and support to rough sleepers with the highest need.
• Nottingham: 35 homes available for rough sleepers across a number of schemes, including the purchase and repair of 15 homes close to the city centre and local amenities.
• London: Southwark Council has purchased 20 self-contained flats specifically for rough sleepers and ex-rough sleepers, as well as providing additional support through their successful Housing First service.
• Bristol: Over 80 homes across the city will be provided for rough sleepers, including 8 modern, high-quality modular properties in partnership with the Salvation Army.
• Liverpool: Rough sleepers will move into over 100 homes close to the city centre, the majority of which will benefit from a garden to encourage a settled environment for tenants.
• West Lindsey: The council will purchase 6 homes in the towns of Gainsborough and Market Rasen, with rough sleepers supported by trained staff to sustain their tenancies and live as independently as possible.

This programme is part of the government’s drive to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament – backed by over £2 billion for rough sleeping and homelessness services over the next 3 years, with 6,000 homes pledged for rough sleepers by the end of this Parliament.

The government is already making progress to meet its target of ending rough sleeping – the annual rough sleeping snapshot in 2020 saw a 37% reduction from the year before, driven by the success of the Everyone In initiative. Rough sleeping levels have fallen 43% since 2017.

The multi-year funding commitment is enabling local partners to better plan services and maximise efficiencies – demonstrating our commitment to build on recent progress.

See an overview of the 2021-2024 Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme.

All allocations are subject to due diligence and contracting processes with DLUHC, Homes England and the Greater London Authority. Payment of this is funding is also subject to successful completion of milestones as set out in successful bids.

• Tinder, Match, OurTime, OkCupid, Hinge, Plenty of Fish and Grindr have joined forces to back the Get Boosted Now campaign and encourage young people to get the jab this Valentine’s Day
• Drive comes as 40% of eligible young people aged 18-34 in England still need to come forward for a COVID-19 booster

The UK’s leading dating apps are once again joining forces in a renewed push to encourage young people to get their booster vaccines ahead of Valentine’s Day.

New data released today Thursday 10 February from Hinge shows users who share their vaccination status on dating apps receive 30% more matches than those who don’t.

Over one million users of OkCupid have added the “I’m Vaccinated” badge to their profile and on Grindr the vaccination badge is among the top three most popular, while a new survey with Plenty of Fish users found that more than one third (37%) of British singles said that they view vaccination as a desirable trait when considering matches.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, apps such as Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and Grindr will enable people to use in-app “Join the Boosted” messages or display vaccination badges and stickers on their dating profiles to boost their chance of finding a match.

Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup said:

Getting your booster vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from COVID-19. It’s great to see people making the most of our restored freedoms thanks to the vaccination programme, and now getting a booster may even help you find someone special to share them all with.

Thank you to our dating app partners for pushing this vital message ahead of Valentine’s Day and helping people swipe right on the booster jab.

While around 80% of eligible adults in England have received a booster jab, around 60% of eligible young people between the ages of 18 and 34 have been boosted. Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows that shortly after getting a booster, you are 85% less likely to end up in hospital with COVID-19 than if you are unvaccinated.

UKHSA data illustrates that around 6 months after a second dose of any of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines, protection against death with Omicron was around 60% in those aged 50 and over. This increased to around 95% 2 weeks after receiving a booster vaccine dose.

Tinder, the world’s most popular app for meeting new people, will feature adverts encouraging people to get their booster jabs. Vaccination badges are available for people to add to their profiles on Grindr, Tinder or OkCupid.

Alexandre Lubot, CEO of Match Group said:

As the world continues to grapple with COVID-19, vaccinations remain the best way we can protect ourselves and others.

We are proud to once again be working with the UK government in support of COVID-19 booster vaccinations to help singles in the UK date more safely and with more confidence in the coming months.

Dr Hannah Shimko, Comms and Policy Director of the Online Dating Association said:

We are grateful to our members and the wider online dating sector for their support with the vaccine booster campaign, and immensely proud of the innovative ways they encourage their users to get vaccinated and boosted.

The Online Dating Association is delighted to work with the UK government to support health initiatives that matter to online daters and allow them to date safely.

Jack Harrison-Quintana, Director of Grindr for Equality of Grindr said:

LGBTQ people, along with other minority groups, are often overlooked in emergency response planning.

That’s why we are so proud to be partnering to ensure Grindr users in Britain have access to needed booster shots.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

• Match Group through its portfolio companies, is a leading provider of dating services available globally. Their portfolio of brands includes Tinder®, Match®, Meetic®, OkCupid®, Hinge®, Pairs™, PlentyOfFish®, and OurTime®, as well as a number of other brands. 
• Through their portfolio companies and their trusted brands, they provide tailored services to meet the varying preferences of our users. Their services are available in over 40 languages to our users all over the world.
• Match Group last worked with the UK Government in May 2021, introducing vaccination badges and awareness campaigns across its dating platforms.
• Imagery of badges and stickers available in dating apps available here
• The latest UKHSA data on the real world effectiveness and impact of the vaccines is available here. Please note this data will be updated later today Thursday 10 February.
• Activity from supporting partners includes:
• Tinder – Tinder will run ads in the app encouraging people to get their booster jabs. Vaccination badges are still available for users to add to their profiles to display their vaccine status.
• Match & Ourtime – Members will see “Join the Boosted” messages across both the mobile and web experiences. Members are still able to add a badge to their profiles to display their vaccine status.
• OkCupid – Users will continue to be able to display the “I’m Vaccinated” badge on their profiles if they answer “yes” in response to the OkCupid matching question, “Do you want to add a badge to your profile to tell others you’ve gotten the Covid-19 vaccine?” Already over 1M users have participated, with more users around the world adding it every day. Additionally, the Vaccinated Stack allows OkCupid daters to filter just for matches that have received the vaccine or booster.
• Hinge – Hinge is encouraging users to share their vaccination status on their profiles. Daters who share that they are “vaccinated” receive 30% more matches.
• Plenty of Fish – Members will receive in-app push notifications encouraging booster jabs and will still have the opportunity to add the “I Got the Jab” badge to their profile, further helping them connect with like-minded singles.

Mr President, Madam Deputy-Secretary-General,

The United Kingdom warmly welcomes this opportunity for a constructive, substantive debate on the detail of Our Common Agenda.

Allow me to begin with two overarching comments.

First, we welcome the Secretary-General’s vision for ‘inclusive multilateralism’. We need to think bigger than the UN membership to solve the world’s most complex challenges in a holistic way, focusing on the UN’s comparative advantage, to deliver the shift from billions to trillions in financing for development and to harness the world’s digital expertise.

Second, we must stay laser-focused on delivering real change in real people’s lives – achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, meeting our climate change commitments and building back better from Covid-19. Our goal must be bold action, not talking shops.

On this specific thematic cluster, we are unequivocally committed to the Secretary-General’s three priorities this morning – namely:

On education, we’ve heard the wide support for the Transforming Education Summit. As my colleague from Singapore said, the Summit must help girls everywhere receive a quality education. We also welcome the suggested roadmap for teaching all children to read, write, and perform basic mathematics, with a renewed focus on digital inclusion through improved digital literacy and connectivity.

On gender equality, we support placing women and girls at the centre of security policy. We welcome the proposed Emergency Response Plan on gender-based violence and support the UN’s aims on achieving gender parity. On youth, we support enhancing youth engagement and the role of youth across the work of the UN. We also agree on the need for green economy job creation and note the importance of including women and girls in this transition.

In addition, we echo your call for a new era of universal social protection, to leave no one behind and eradicate extreme poverty.

We welcome the Secretary-General’s further detail on a renewed social contract. We look forward to further consideration of the proposed 2025 World Social Summit and any commitments needed to secure legal identity for all.

In conclusion, you have the UK’s full support in convening member states on this wide-ranging and detailed report. We look forward to continuing to work with you on it.

I thank you.