A south-east London homelessness charity has warned that “fundamental issues” with the welfare system need to be addressed before real change can happen.

It comes after the government’s housing secretary, and Old Bexley and Sidcup MP, James Brokenshire vowed to make homelessness a “thing of the past” by 2027.

The government has unveiled a £100m strategy to tackle rough sleeping on England’s streets which will focus on preventing people from becoming homeless in the first place by offering a range of support.

South-east London

In south-east London, the number of rough sleepers has increased in line with the trend across the capital.

One charity in Deptford has said other issues need to be tackled in the long term.

Tim Fallon, CEO of the 999 Club, which runs a night shelter and advice centre, said: “We welcome the government’s announcement this week, which we see as a first step to eradicating rough sleeping, at a time when the number of homeless people has significantly risen in Lewisham and across the country.

“However, the lack of social housing and genuinely affordable homes, as well as fundamental issues with the welfare system also need to be properly addressed before real change can happen.”

The 999 Club will open its night shelter seven days a week from next month through to late March, with capacity for 30 places a night.

Spending

Charities welcomed the announcement but warned that the cash would not be a fix alone.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “This strategy is an important step forward in the fight against the rough-sleeping emergency that’s led to people dying on our streets.

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“But let’s be clear, this is a step forward and not a total fix for homelessness. We still need to tackle the chronic lack of genuinely affordable homes, deep instability of renting, and problems with housing benefit that are leaving so many without a home.”

Some £30m of the cash earmarked for this new strategy will be spent on help for mental health and treatment for substance abuse.

A further £50m will be put towards houses outside London for those ready to leave hostels.

What do the councils say? 

Homelessness has been on the rise for the past seven years, with around 4,750 people estimated to be sleeping rough on any given night in England in 2017.

In south-east London there has been a 150 per cent increase in rough sleeping from 2010 to 2017.

A headcount from last year in Lewisham showed 22 rough sleepers.

Last year in Bexley the number of rough sleepers had increased to 17 from 11 the year before, which although relatively low, is a reflective of a national pattern.

A council spokesman said: “We welcome the government’s plan to wipe out rough sleeping in the future through a renewed focus and additional resources.

“We have seen an increase in recent years in line with London and national trends.

“We refer new rough sleepers for support through to the London-wide No Second Night Out service. Bexley has also more recently joined forces with Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham to commission a No First Night Out service, to help prevent rough sleeping.”

In neighbouring Bromley, there has been an 18 per cent increase in the number of rough sleepers since 2010.

Council leader Colin Smith said: “We welcome the announcement and though Bromley’s rough sleeper figures are very low in comparison to many other boroughs – especially those in central London – we acknowledge that any number of rough sleepers is too many.

“Bromley’s housing team support those who find themselves in this position, working with agencies that specialise in help for rough sleepers such as Thames Reach and London Street Rescue to ensure we know who is there.”

Bromley had five rough sleepers last year, compared to three the year before.

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Not far enough

In Greenwich, councillor Chris Kirby, the cabinet member for housing, said the government's plans do not go far enough to "address the massive crisis".

He said: "Nine years is far too long to tackle a situation which causes such human misery.

"The government’s welfare reforms and cuts in funding for essential services has resulted in a sharp increase in homelessness and in Greenwich we have seen a 68 per cent rise in the number of people sleeping rough in the past five years alone.

"Tackling homelessness is a high priority for the council and our work has enabled us to reduce the numbers of people sleeping rough in the borough, at any one time, from the peak of 110 in 2015/16 to 94 last year."