Burnham makes ending rough sleeping his first policy pledge as prime minister

Burnham makes ending rough sleeping his first policy pledge as prime ministerImage source, PA MediaImage caption, Andy Burnham during a visit to homeless charity The Passage at St Vincent's Centre in Victoria, LondonByRichard Wheeler and Kevin FitzpatrickPublished4 minutes agoAndy Burnham has made ending rough sleeping in the country his first policy pledge as the new prime minister.Making his first speech in Downing Street, Burnham said he wanted the government to be "investing in people's success rather than paying for failure".The government said an additional £340m would be provided to support the policy, which is expected to provide 1,200 homes and "intensive support" for at least 3,000 people.When he became Greater Manchester mayor in 2017, Burnham pledged to end rough sleeping in the area by 2020, external. Figures published in 2025 by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority showed rough sleeping had increased year-on-year, although decreased compared to 2017.To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, Burnham pressed on ambition to end rough sleepingThe government said the first steps will involve helping those sleeping rough for a long period of time to move into secure housing, and includes the "acquisition of suitable homes".Burnham, in a statement after his first speech in Downing Street, said: "On my first day as prime minister, I'm announcing this government's commitment to finally end long-term rough sleeping across the UK at the earliest opportunity."We'll get to work immediately, bringing together national and local government with the investment needed to get it done."The latest annual national statistics, published by the government in February this year, estimated there were 4,793 people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2025 in England.This was a new record high and the fourth annual increase in a row....