Burnham promised to end rough sleeping but he failed in Manchester

In his first speech as prime minister, Andy Burnham promised his government would “end rough sleeping” across the country and said it would be his “first directive”.

More specifically, outlined by No 10, it was announced that a £340 million fund would be used to acquire suitable homes, identify those most in need and begin providing housing and support “without delay”.

The government said the funding would provide intensive support for 1,200 homes and at least 3,000 long-term rough sleepers over five years.

The money, said to come from uncommitted Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) budgets, will be added to the £3.6bn of funding previously announced as part of the National Plan to End Homelessness that came under Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, bringing the total to over £3.9bn.

But the Conservatives said Mr Burnham was “making commitments without any delivery plan”.

Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly said: “There is little detail about how this will be paid for. Burnham should clarify what slices of salami other MHCLG schemes have been cut into to fill the gap.”

“In Manchester, Burnham promised to end rough sleeping but failed because he didn’t put in the hard work required. Now he’s making promises again without any plan of delivery.”

What did Burnham decide to do in Greater Manchester?

Tackling insomnia has long been Mr. Burnham’s political priority; He made the same pledge when he became mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017, donating 15 per cent of his mayoral salary to the mayor’s charity to tackle homelessness in the area.

The charity set up the Bed Every Night scheme, which aims to provide a place to sleep and personal support to anyone in Greater Manchester who is rough or at risk of sleeping rough.

Data shows the number of people sleeping rough in the area was lower in 2017 than when he was mayor, but has risen sharply in recent years.

Latest government data shows 197 people in Greater Manchester were sleeping rough on an October or November night in 2025.

That number is down 26 per cent from 268 in autumn 2017, when Mr Burnham was elected in Manchester.

Over the same period, the total number of rough sleepers in England increased by 1 per cent, from 4,751 in 2017 to 4,793 last year.

The number of rough sleepers in Manchester fell to its lowest level during Burnham’s leadership in 2021, at 90 people. But since then the figure has more than doubled.

The total number of rough sleepers in England has increased by 96 per cent since 2021; this is a slower rate than in Greater Manchester.

Manchester homelessness charity Mustard Tree worked with Mr Burnham during his time as mayor. Jo Walby, the charity’s chief executive, praised his record in the area but said his ability to tackle homelessness was limited by the powers of his post.

“Since Andy Burnham became mayor in 2017, until Covid and the resulting cost of living crisis – with numbers starting to rise again in 2022 – we were seeing a positive shift and reduction in people sleeping rough in Greater Manchester,” he said. Independent.

“There are still fewer people on the streets now than there were when Andy Burnham was the first mayor.”

Ms Walby added: “We don’t know how bad it would be if Andy Burnham wasn’t mayor. Homelessness is complex and linked to a failing government, issues such as access to mental health services, social services and lack of financial opportunities.”

He said Mr Burnham, while mayor, “realised he could only go so far without changing national policy”, adding that government responsibilities such as housebuilding, local housing allowance rates, benefits and immigration, national skills and education could all affect levels of homelessness.

What challenges does Burnham face right now?

In the fall of 2025, the estimated number of people sleeping rough on a single night nationwide was 4,793; this was the highest number ever recorded.

But Shelter’s head of policy, Charlie Trew, welcomed Mr Burnham’s announcement, describing it as “something we haven’t had from a prime minister for a very long time”.

But Mr Trew believes the approach to tackling the problem at a national level should prioritize preventive measures, such as building social homes. “An affordable, decent home is the foundation of everything,” he said Independent.

He endorses Mr Burnham’s declaration that he will work to ensure local councils have the financial capability to support people at risk of homelessness, while also promising the biggest wave of council house construction since the Second World War.

He said: “What he needs to do, and what he has stated he wants to do, is to fund and support councils and regional authorities so they can make ‘invest to save’ decisions.

“This approach delivers social benefits by keeping people in settled and affordable homes, while also generating long-term savings for the state in housing benefit, temporary accommodation and rough sleeping services.

“We’ve seen people brought into homes during the pandemic, but new groups of people have continued to find themselves homeless without support. You really need to build affordable social homes to prevent people reaching that position.”