John Glenton, Executive Director of Care and Support at Riverside, said:

“’Everyone In’ has been one of this government’s key achievements during the coronavirus crisis, successfully supporting more than 29,000 vulnerable people in England in emergency accommodation and then helping two-thirds of those people to move into settled accommodation.

“This new targeted Protect Programme funding is valuable and will go some way to helping protect people affected by homelessness in the areas where it is needed most – although at the moment it isn’t entirely clear what this funding will cover.

“I think it is very important to acknowledge that this Government is very clearly listening across all sectors of society. This strong relationship and on-going dialogue will be vital if we are to continue protecting people affected by homelessness from COVID-19, as we have successfully done so far.

“It is also important to note that this funding isn’t as extensive as what we saw during ‘Everyone In’ and nor has the Government issued a letter to all local leaders asking them to bring everyone in off the streets.

“Research led by University College London shows ‘Everyone In’ helped to prevent 21,092 infections, 1,164 hospital admissions, 338 ICU admissions and 266 deaths during the first lockdown. We must all continue to remain vigilant in order to minimise the spread of Covid among the people we support during this pandemic.”