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Khan pledges to end rough sleeping by 2030 if re-elected as London mayor
Sadiq Khan has pledged to end rough sleeping by 2030 if he is re-elected London mayor for a third term.
In a speech on Monday, he announced that he will set aside an additional £10m in funding, which will be used to set up an expanded network of ending homelessness hubs across London.
He said this would be City Hall’s “biggest single intervention” to tackle rough sleeping on record.
Mr Khan said the hubs will provide specialist assessment and support, getting an additional 1,700 rough sleepers off the streets annually by the end of the mayoral term.
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A record number of 4,389 people were sleeping rough in London between October and December 2023.
The figure, published in January by the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), was the highest ever recorded during a quarterly period – representing a 23% annual increase.
Mr Khan said on Monday: “Today I’m pledging to increase City Hall’s rough sleeping budget to record levels, setting aside an additional £10m over the next three years.
“We’ll fund a new expanded network of rough sleeping hubs across London, helping an additional 1,700 people off our streets annually by the end of the term.
“We’ll strengthen existing relationships with all our boroughs, charities and businesses and forge new ones with all those who share our ambition and resolve.
“We’ll work side by side with the next Labour government to overcome the social and economic injustices which leave our societies scarred and our people with no place to call home.”
Mr Khan said that it is time to “reject the notion that homelessness is some natural, stubborn feature of modern life that we have no option but to abide by”.
“With the right investments and right initiatives, we can and will end rough sleeping for good,” he stated.
The mayoral election is taking place on 2 May.
Mr Khan recently pledged to deliver 6,000 new rental homes across the capital, in which rents are capped based on local salaries.
He also promised to build 40,000 council homes in London by 2030 if he is re-elected.
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