THE policy which has reduced rough sleeping on Cheshire West and Chester’s streets to its ‘lowest ever level’ will continue — despite the UK government’s decision to not re-start funding nationally.

Last month, CWAC Cllr Matt Bryan — homelessness and housing lead — revealed that the borough currently has ‘between one and three on the rough sleeper count’.

This was due in part to the government’s ‘Everybody In’ policy, which i News reported today (Wednesday, January 6) would not be restarted with the advent of a third national lockdown.

Cllr Bryan told the LDRS: “It makes no difference to us. We started our own Everyone In policy and it will continue. We have got our own dedicated resources for it on top of prevention funding.

“Although we have got the funds, we will probably have to tap into the reserves and there will be a cost to this — it is really disappointing that the government has decided to do this.

“We have had no communications with them about it.”

Cllr Bryan said CWAC’s resources currently amounted to £3 million to continue the battle against homeslessness, and benefitted from a £815,000 from the government's homelessness prevention grant.

He added: “It is a difficult time for anyone. Then imagine having this weather, having no house, and having a virus take hold which specifically affects people with underlying health conditions.

“A lot of homeless people have those conditions.”

Although CWAC’s initiatives resulted in a very small number of people sleeping rough in the borough, Cllr Bryan previously said between 120 and 140 were in ‘temporary accommodation’, with ‘new people being moved on at a fast rate’.