2026-08-20
11 分钟This is The Guardian.
What campaigners would say is, look, we've done it.
We can do it again.
Because obviously we've got the experience from the pandemic, so it's enough money to bring everybody in.
It's not just about getting people off the streets.
It's about providing the homes.
And probably most of all, it requires real political will from the top.
At the very least, we have that.
This is the right thing to do.
I feel very passionately about this.
But even when there is political will, there are massive structural problems.
From The Guardian's Today in Focus, this is The Latest with me, Noshin Iqbal.
Steve Burnham has unveiled his plan to give rough sleepers a route off the streets by Christmas.
Patrick Butler, you're The Guardian's social policy editor,
and you've been analysing governments do this kind of work for at least two decades.
Now, this was a flagship policy for the Prime Minister when he entered 10 Downing Street last month.
What exactly has been announced today?
Well, what's been announced today is an initiative to encourage local councils to get people off the streets, i.e.
Rough sleepers off the streets, by Christmas.
So the exact wording he used is, councils must give a route off the streets to everyone who wants it by Christmas.