FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2 NOVEMBER 2006
Politicians begin to back the bid to end rough sleeping by the Olympics
At a Homeless Link reception in Westminster yesterday it was officially announced that Mayor Ken Livingstone has accepted the group’s challenge to end rough sleeping before the Olympics in 2012. The Mayor said: 'In our 21st century London it is deplorable that there are still people forced to sleep on the streets.' (1)
Speaking at the reception, Caroline Spelman MP, the Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, also announced her support for the goal of ending rough sleeping across the UK by 2012.
Ms Spelman also stressed the need for increased focus on early prevention and on the support needed for long term homeless people to reintegrate confidently into society – particularly those suffering from alcoholism and other forms of substance abuse.
Yvette Cooper, Minister for Housing and Planning, commenting on the launch of Homeless Link’s campaign to end homelessness in the UK by 2022, said the organisation was 'right to be ambitious'.
Ms Cooper said that in this 40th anniversary year of the screening of Ken Loach’s Cathy Come Home, it was time to build on the UK’s proven success at reducing rough sleeping – at a time when other European countries are seeing a rise in numbers of rough sleepers – to find solutions. She did not want, she said, for homelessness to still be a concern in another 40 years.
Andrew Stunell, the Lib Dem Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, reiterated the cross party political consensus on achieving the goal of ending homelessness, which, he said, was 'not acceptable socially or economically'.
Speaking on behalf of Homeless Link, Jenny Edwards said: 'This is a fantastic start to the campaign to end homelessness. This country is among the world leaders in its approach to the issue. Now it’s time to go for gold. We call on all parties to back the bid.'
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