382,618 homeless this Xmas

Labour in £3.5bn drive to help rough sleepers and B&B families

- BY ALEXANDER BROWN Assistant Political Editor

LABOUR has pledged to end the scandal of people being forced to sleep rough on the streets.

And it will also end the misery for families stuck in cramped B&Bs because there is no home for them.

The National Plan to End Homelessness, published today, is backed by £3.5billion of funding.

It has three key pledges to be achieved by the end of this parliament: to halve the number of long-term rough sleepers, end the unlawful use of B&Bs for families and prevent more households from becoming homeless in the first place.

Included in the plans is a target to halve the number of ex-prisoners who become homeless on their first night out of jail and ensuring that no one is on the street after a hospital stay.