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<p>The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping and has
now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the
spending review period.</p><p>The Homelessness Reduction Act, is the most ambitious
reform to homelessness legislation in decades. It came into force in April 2018 and
transforms the culture of homelessness service delivery. For the first time, local
authorities, public services, and the third sector will work together to actively
prevent homelessness for people at risk, irrespective of whether they are a family
or single person, what has put them at risk, or if they have a local connection to
the area.</p><p>Although our data is still experimental the indications are that people
who do not have priority need are being assisted by local authorities to prevent or
relieve their homelessness. During the first 3 quarters for which we have published
data 189,760 households have had a duty to prevent or relieve homelessness accepted,
and only 6,020 households have been issued with a 'non priority homeless' decision.
Our data indicates that less than 10 per cent of all applicants are homeless due to
Domestic Abuse, and local authorities will be more inclined to provide accommodation
to victims of abuse than others where there are competing demands for accommodation
that is available to single people. People who are found to have no priority need
are still entitled to assistance to relieve their homelessness.</p><p>The Homelessness
Reduction Act is still very new and we expect outcomes to improve as the new duties
are better understood. It is also important to understand that local authorities are
adjusting to new reporting requirements that affect data quality, which is why MHCLG
published data is experimental.</p>
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