Greater Manchester's mayor has issued a no-nonsense ultimatum to all public sector bosses saying not enough is being done to tackle the escalating homelessness problem.

Andy Burnham is demanding all organisations, including councils, GP leaders, the police and housing providers, take urgent and ‘immediate’ action and come up over the next fortnight with plans to tackle the problem.

Mr Burnham has grown frustrated in recent months at the rising numbers of rough sleepers on the streets and believes more short-term measures could be taken to reverse the trend, alongside longer-term plans to build new shelters and reform the housing sector.

He is particularly keen to see vacant public buildings used as shelters - particularly as winter sets in - and to ensure all homeless people have access to GP services.

The region’s public sector chiefs were already due to meet on October 6 to discuss ‘life readiness’ among teenagers, but in a blunt letter to them the mayor says the topic of that meeting has now been changed to homelessness.

“As mayor I have asked individuals, businesses and the voluntary sector to do more, and they have, now it is time for the public sector to increase the urgency with which it responds to homelessness and rough-sleeping,” he writes.

“I want you to think about what your organisation can do individually and what you can do collectively, working together with other public sector partners.

“Our discussion will focus on the immediate action we can take across all public bodies and voluntary sector organisations, as well as receiving an update on the work done so far and future action plan.

“I am requesting as chair of the board that each body brings ideas of actions that can be taken immediately and in planning for a longer term solution.”

He lists a number of specific suggestions, including asking the NHS to ensure GPs provide treatment to homeless people whenever they need it, looking for vacant properties owned by housing providers or other parts of the public sector that could be opened up, and looking at how all authorities can work together to ensure nobody is on the street during severe weather.

The letter has been sent to chief executives of all 10 councils, as well as the region’s chief health officer, Greater Manchester housing providers, the county fire officer, clinical commissioning leaders, mental health providers, the Department of Work and Pensions, and the chief constable.

He told the M.E.N. that while the voluntary sector, members of the public and business had been active in helping to solve the problem, the public sector could do more.

“This problem is escalating before our eyes and now needs to be gripped much more fundamentally by the system,” he added.

End rough sleeping by 2020

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Mr Burnham was elected in May on a promise to end rough sleeping on Greater Manchester’s streets by 2020. Official estimates are only released once a year, with the last numbers estimating the numbers at 78 - but charities say numbers are routinely three or even four times that estimate and one told the M.E.N. around 20 new homeless people are currently appearing in the city centre every week.

The number of people living in temporary accommodation also shot up by a third between June an December, according to research by Shelter.

Benefits changes - particularly recent cuts to housing benefit for people aged 18 to 21 - have been identified as a particular factor in the rising numbers.

A report by the National Audit Office earlier this week - which is understood to have heightened concerns within the mayor’s office - found the government had failed to understand the link between welfare cuts and homelessness, adding that it was ‘difficult to understand’ its ‘light touch approach’ to the crisis.