Press Release

Homeless Link releases action plan targeted at reducing rough sleeping among Central and Eastern Europeans in London

Today, as Communities and Local Government (CLG) launch their plan on ‘Managing the Local Impacts of Migration’, Homeless Link, the national umbrella body for frontline homelessness agencies in England, has released an action plan targeted at reducing rough sleeping among Central and Eastern Europeans in London. Funded by CLG, this piece of work builds on an earlier Homeless Link report written in 2006 in response to a growing concern from Homeless Link’s member agencies that the number of people from Central and Eastern Europe accessing their services was increasing. Homeless Link’s action plan also aims to reduce the risk of similar issues occurring in the future in relation to new migrant groups.

Jenny Edwards, Chief Executive of Homeless Link, said, “This is a fantastic example of the third sector working collaboratively with Government. We applaud CLG’s response to the issue we raised and their commitment to finding real solutions to emerging social issues identified by agencies working on the ground. However, the issue requires a wider response than the homelessness sector and this country. We call on other government departments and international agencies to demonstrate an equal commitment in tackling this issue”.

Iain Wright, Housing Minister, said, “I'm very pleased that Communities and Local Government has been able to support the development of this Action Plan. It provides an important resource for developing further the impressive joint working we've already seen between the voluntary sector, local government and other agencies in tackling this issue. We're also publishing today our plan on ‘Managing the Local Impacts of migration’ which maps the work already underway on supporting local services in dealing with migration and sets out what else we will be doing. This Action Plan is a really good example of that wider agenda.’