THOUSANDS of new supported homes will be made available for rough sleepers, the Government has announced.

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick announced the news on Sunday.

Mr Jenrick said 90 per cent of Britain’s rough sleepers had been housed during the crisis and announced new measures to support them going forward.

He said: “Some people will need help to return to the private rental sector, but others will need accommodation to be provided so they can start to rebuild their lives.

“That’s why 6,000 new supported homes will be made available for rough sleepers, providing safe accommodation for people we’ve helped off the streets during the pandemic.

"The Government is backing this effort with £433 million to fast track the safe accommodation desperately needed.” to ensure as few rough sleepers as possible return to the streets.

“3,300 of these new homes will become available in the next 12 months, and £160 million will be spent this year to deliver that.

“But rough sleeping is as much a health issue, as it is a housing issue. It’s a crisis of addiction and mental health as well.

“So we will provide specialist support staff for rough sleepers in this new accommodation to ensure that they can continue to receive the health support that they will need to transform their lives and fulfil their potential.”

Mr Jenrick also told the briefing the Government has reached its 200,000 a day testing capacity target.

The Department of Health said the increased capacity, which stood at 205,634 on Saturday, would support the rollout of the NHS Test and Trace system to control the spread of the illness.

But in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Sunday, only 115,725 tests were carried out or dispatched with 1,936 positive results.

Overall, a total of 4,285,738 tests have been carried out and 274,762 cases have been confirmed positive.