The Government has drafted in experts from Finland in an effort to help meet their commitment to eliminate rough sleeping within the next decade.

The Scandinavian country is the only EU member state to have seen a decline in homelessness in recent years.

Meanwhile, in England, rough sleeping has increased for the seventh consecutive year, with official figures revealing more than 4,700 people slept outside in 2017, up 15% on the previous year.

The Government hopes a new taskforce and a £30m fund for those local authorities with high levels of rough sleeping, announced on Friday, will see them fulfil a promise to halve the number of rough sleepers by 2022 and eliminate the problem completely by 2027.

Speaking to Sky News, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid claimed rough sleeping was "completely unacceptable" in a country as rich as Britain.


He said the "very complex" causes of rough sleeping included high house prices, mental health issues, drug or alcohol addiction, and family breakdown.

The Cabinet minister also admitted there is "no question" local authorities have faced "challenging times" due to budget squeezes in recent years, as he stressed the importance of the new £30m fund being "ring-fenced".

Image: Communities Secretary Sajid Javid admitted there have been 'challenging times' for local authorities

The new Rough Sleeping Team, drawn from across Government, will include experts from charities who "have worked in this area for years, in some cases decades, and other experts, including international experts", Mr Javid said.

He added: "For example, from Finland, where they have eliminated rough sleeping, I think we can learn lessons there.

"We need action on many fronts. One is to deal and help with those people that are on the streets now, completely unacceptable in a country like ours, as rich as ours today.

"But, also with the causes, because we don't want to see more people going on to the streets."

Mr Javid visited Finland last year in order to learn about the country's Housing First strategy, where rough sleepers are given a stable home.

This approach is now being piloted in Liverpool, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

The Government's Homelessness Reduction Act, which comes into effect next week, places new legal duties on English councils to intervene at an earlier stage to prevent homelessness.

Mr Javid also stressed of the need for "joined-up government" in dealing with rough sleeping, as he spoke of the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS being "fully engaged" if rough sleepers are found to have mental health problems.

Highlighting how up to 30% of rough sleepers in London are ex-offenders, he added: "When we release prisoners, many of them will not go on straight into accommodation, and it is actually possible, if you work harder, to identify those that are at risk of rough sleeping and to take action up front so they don't end up on the streets."

Labour's shadow housing secretary John Healey said: "You can't help the homeless if you won't provide the homes, and the money announced here is less than 1% of the Conservatives' annual cut to funding for new low-cost housing."

Greg Beales, campaigns director at homelessness charity Shelter, said the new measures would make "a genuine difference", but added: "Most of these people became homeless simply because they couldn't afford anywhere to live, a situation made far worse by welfare cuts.

"We very much hope that the Government's new strategy will go far enough in removing the barriers that deny people a safe, secure and affordable home.

"That means building more social homes to rent, and making sure housing benefit is fit for purpose."