Labour confirms millions in funding to stop 1,000-plus veterans becoming homeless

The government has announced millions in cash to get veterans off the streets after Big Issue revealed doubts over a key scheme which had saved more than 1,000 ex-forces personnel from homelessness.

The £12 million funding boost has avoided a ‘cliff edge’ for veterans at risk of rough sleeping, coming in the wake of warnings that homes which had got hundreds of veterans off the streets would face closure without extra money. Our reporting led to calls from the shadow cabinet and the Liberal Democrats for the government to stump up the money, and for Keir Starmer to make good on a promise to “house all veterans in housing need”.

Read our reporting on the battle for cash for homeless veterans:

• Hundreds of veterans face homelessness as future of support scheme uncertain: ‘A kick in the teeth’
• Tories call on Starmer to confirm cash keeping 1,000 veterans off the streets: ‘They must be protected’
• ‘A moral imperative’: Starmer faces pressure to confirm cash to stop veteran homelessness

The cash was due to expire at the end of March 2026. But now Op FORTITUDE has been extended for three years as well as supporting funding to provide accommodation – the longest period of certainty since it was set up in 2023.

Defence secretary John Healey said: “The first duty of government is to keep our country safe, and that is only possible through the extraordinary men and women in our armed forces.

“Our nation owes a duty to those who have served, and this new strategy recognises veterans as one of our greatest assets.”

Johnny Mercer, the former veterans’ minister who oversaw the introduction of Op FORTITUDE, said: “This is great news, but the government cannot simply be shamed into doing things like this. Well done to the Big Issue and everyone involved in highlighting it.”

Op FORTITUDE was announced in 2023 by the Conservative government as a single point of contact for homeless veterans, in the form of a phone line which then referred veterans on to services and housing, alongside funding for that accommodation. That initial £8.5m in cash was followed up by £3.5m in funding from Keir Starmer’s government.

Organisations running the housing for veterans said without the funding many of the projects would likely close for good, leaving a gap in specialised support.

Andrew Lord, chief executive of Alabaré, which had said it faced closing 90 bed spaces without further funding, told Big Issue: “This is what we have been waiting for.

“We have been concerned about the future of the Reducing Veterans Homelessness programme and look forward to further detail in terms of how it will be taken forward.”

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A total of 44 UK veterans were recorded as rough sleeping in London in the most recent three-month count, making up 1.3% of the total on the capital’s street, and representing the best approximation of the proportion of rough sleepers who have an armed forces background.

The homelessness cash comes alongside £12m in funding to go towards building housing for veterans, part of the government’s new Veterans Strategy.

Lee Buss-Blair, director of operations and group veteran lead of Riverside, the housing association which operates the Op FORTITUDE hotline, said: “Longer-term funding is hugely important as it provides security for veterans themselves and our colleagues who are providing care and support for veterans affected by homelessness.

“This long-term funding also brings veterans supported housing into line with the three-to-five-year contracts being provided by councils for mainstream supported housing and homelessness services and means that the armed forces community do not face disadvantage due to their service in the armed forces.”

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