Share of funding to help homeless 'falls far short'

EFFORTS to eradicate homelessness in the North East will be stuck in “crisis response mode” after the region was given the lowest share of new funding in England, charities have warned.

- By DANIEL HOLLAND

The Government announced an £84m cash boost last week aimed at preventing people becoming homeless this winter.

But there are fears that the North East's allocation falls “far short of what is needed.

The region will receive only £1.5m from that pot - considerably lower than any other part of the country.

The second-lowest allocation is more than double the North East's, with the East of England given £4m, while the North West will receive £8.2m and London £36.5m.

That is despite concerns about a significant spike in rough sleeping here.

While the North East does have the lowest overall total of people estimated to be sleeping rough of any region in England, the numbers have been increasing considerably.