MIDDLESBROUGH Labour Group has called on Middlesbrough Council to urgently ensure all homeless people in the town have a safe place to stay during the latest national lockdown.

During the first national lockdown in March 2020, the government set up the “Everyone In” policy which helped 15,000 rough sleepers find a safe space to stay.

The government recognised the dangers to homeless people sleeping on the streets during the first peak of coronavirus and handed councils £3.2million to provide shelter.

The scheme quietly ended in May 2020 as Britain came out of lockdown.

Now with rising rates across the country and weather conditions far more treacherous, Councillor Craig Wright has submitted an Urgent Motion to be considered by Middlesbrough Council at its meeting on Wednesday.

Councillor Wright said: “We have seen before that when councils, government and charities work together we can defeat homelessness and ensure everyone is safe. We now need to move urgently to do this again.

"With the cold temperatures outside and the highly transmissible strain of Covid tearing through our communities, protecting vulnerable people has never been so urgent.”

Middlesbrough Council sheltered around 90 people during the first national lockdown, up from the average of 25. But, homelessness and rough sleeping has increased since the first national lockdown in March with one charity, ‘akt’ seeing a rise in referrals of 118 per cent between April to August 2020.