New Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy will help support city’s most vulnerable residents

A new strategy is being developed in Stoke-on-Trent to help support individuals facing homelessness and reduce rough sleeping.

A four-week consultation is underway on the draft Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2025-2030, which sets out how the city council will prevent, intervene in and reduce homelessness - as well as provide support to those affected by it.

It also outlines the council’s priorities around homelessness over the next five years, which include:

• Raising the priority of homelessness prevention within the city
• Relieving homelessness and tackling rough sleeping quickly by making the best use of accommodation options available in the city
• Ensuring those most vulnerable to homelessness have the right level of support tailored to their needs

The strategy is being developed on the back of a Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Review, which was carried out by the council in 2024 and assessed the current and likely future state of homelessness in the city.

The review found that the most common reasons people lose their accommodation in Stoke-on-Trent are that family and friends are no longer willing to accommodate and the loss of a private-rented tenancy.

It also noted that the number of homelessness enquiries received by the council in 2024 increased by 16 per cent in the last five years.

Councillor Chris Robinson, cabinet member for housing and planning at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “Homelessness is a complex issue which we know has been exacerbated over the last few years due to things like the cost of living crisis and housing pressures.

“Locally, there are simply not enough affordable homes available to those on the lowest incomes.

"But we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure everyone – including our most vulnerable residents – have a decent place to call home. And we want to make sure that they are being given the support they need to live independently.

“Working with local residents and our trusted partners, this strategy will set out our collective vision and the steps we will take to prevent and reduce homelessness in Stoke-on-Trent over the next five years.

"This will build on all the work we are already doing to ensure our city is a healthier, safer and fairer city for all.”

Over the past five years, the city council has made a number of significant developments around homelessness and rough sleeping in the city.

These include securing £20 million of government funding for various rough sleeping initiatives, the creation of 74 new bed spaces for people sleeping rough and the launch of the Hanley Connects homelessness hub which supported more than 1,000 people in its first six months.

In addition, the council’s Rough Sleeper Service successfully supported 1,014 people off the streets.

Now the authority is launching a final consultation on its new draft Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, to gather residents’ views on whether they think the vision and priorities are the right ones to focus on over the next five years.

To have your say visit www.stoke.gov.uk/homelessnessstrategy and fill in the online survey.

The consultation will run for four weeks until Sunday 27 April.