What progress her Department has made on tackling rough sleeping and homelessness in Southport.

What progress her Department has made on tackling rough sleeping and homelessness in Southport.

The number of families in temporary accommodation has decreased in Southport year on year, and in June 2026 no people were sleeping rough in the West Lancashire borough council area. Funding for the national rough sleeping programme was announced last month, with £340,000 allocated to Sefton, £6.7 million to the Liverpool city region and £189,000 to West Lancashire borough council. That will ensure that people sleeping rough in Southport can be offered a roof over their head and be off the streets by Christmas.

The number of families in temporary accommodation has decreased in Southport year on year, and in June 2026 no people were sleeping rough in the West Lancashire borough council area. Funding for the national rough sleeping programme was announced last month, with £340,000 allocated to Sefton, £6.7 million to the Liverpool city region and £189,000 to West Lancashire borough council. That will ensure that people sleeping rough in Southport can be offered a roof over their head and be off the streets by Christmas.

Light for Life, a homelessness charity in Southport, tells me that some of the rough sleepers with the most complex needs are precisely the people least able to navigate the bureaucracy associated with finding that roof over their head. Will the Minister consider creating a distinct pathway for entrenched rough sleepers, and allowing trusted local bodies to triage people directly and to get them into emergency accommodation, rather than expecting those with addiction issues, poor mental health and chaotic lives to navigate the bureaucracy before they can obtain help?

Light for Life, a homelessness charity in Southport, tells me that some of the rough sleepers with the most complex needs are precisely the people least able to navigate the bureaucracy associated with finding that roof over their head. Will the Minister consider creating a distinct pathway for entrenched rough sleepers, and allowing trusted local bodies to triage people directly and to get them into emergency accommodation, rather than expecting those with addiction issues, poor mental health and chaotic lives to navigate the bureaucracy before they can obtain help?

It is important that we highlight the complexity and challenges faced by many people who are sleeping rough, and it is important that we recognise that that those with complex needs can be the least able to navigate traditional services. Our new £442 million rough sleeping programme will fund routes off the streets, as well as settled accommodation and intensive support. It will bring together the multi-agency support response that is often needed to move people off the streets for good. Local authorities will have the flexibility to work with trusted voluntary organisations that can reach those who are furthest from the services. I am happy to look into the experience that my hon. Friend has described, and the experience of Light for Life in Southport.

It is important that we highlight the complexity and challenges faced by many people who are sleeping rough, and it is important that we recognise that that those with complex needs can be the least able to navigate traditional services. Our new £442 million rough sleeping programme will fund routes off the streets, as well as settled accommodation and intensive support. It will bring together the multi-agency support response that is often needed to move people off the streets for good. Local authorities will have the flexibility to work with trusted voluntary organisations that can reach those who are furthest from the services. I am happy to look into the experience that my hon. Friend has described, and the experience of Light for Life in Southport.

My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Shabana Mahmood) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:

On 13 April 2026, the Chair of the Southport Inquiry, Sir Adrian Fulford published his Phase 1 report. Sir Adrian sets out five fundamental failings, and makes 67 recommendations...

My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Shabana Mahmood) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:

On 13 April 2026, the Chair of the Southport Inquiry, Sir Adrian Fulford published his Phase 1 report. Sir Adrian sets out five fundamental failings, and makes 67 recommendations...

On 13 April 2026, the Chair of the Southport Inquiry, Sir Adrian Fulford published his Phase 1 report. Sir Adrian sets out five fundamental failings, and makes 67 recommendations for central government, and a range of national and local partners to consider. He concludes that the attack was foreseeable and...

On 13 April 2026, the Chair of the Southport Inquiry, Sir Adrian Fulford published his Phase 1 report. Sir Adrian sets out five fundamental failings, and makes 67 recommendations for central government, and a range of national and local partners to consider. He concludes that the attack was foreseeable and...

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the internal investigation by Liverpool Women’s University Hospital into inappropriate access to the medical records of victims in Southport included an assessment of whether the records of victims who had died in hospital had been accessed.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the internal investigation by Liverpool Women’s University Hospital into inappropriate access to the medical records of victims in Southport included an assessment of whether the records of victims who had died in hospital had been accessed.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the internal investigation by Liverpool Women’s University Hospital into inappropriate access to the medical records of victims in Southport considered the patient or the hospital itself to have been a victim of the unlawful misuse of data; and whether that position was supported by (1) NHS...

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the internal investigation by Liverpool Women’s University Hospital into inappropriate access to the medical records of victims in Southport considered the patient or the hospital itself to have been a victim of the unlawful misuse of data; and whether that position was supported by (1) NHS...

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the internal investigation by Liverpool Women’s University Hospital into inappropriate access to the medical records of victims in Southport examined (1) breaches using hospital systems to access the patients' GP records, (2) access to Summary Care Records, or (3) any access to the Liverpool Share2Care...

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the internal investigation by Liverpool Women’s University Hospital into inappropriate access to the medical records of victims in Southport examined (1) breaches using hospital systems to access the patients' GP records, (2) access to Summary Care Records, or (3) any access to the Liverpool Share2Care...

Q9

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Patrick Hurley (Southport) (Lab):

I thank the Prime Minister for his words in relation to the horrific attack in my constituency, and for the work that the Government are doing as a result. The families affected do not want their lives to be defined by the attack, and we must not allow my great town to be defined by it either. That is why I am asking for the Prime Minister’s help to ensure that my town’s best days lie ahead. My council is helping to bring empty town centre properties back into residential use. It is a much-needed corrective after years of decline and neglect under the previous Government, but more needs to be done. Does the Prime Minister agree that our town centres need place-based funding, and will he back my bid for Southport to be included in the next round of Pride in Place support?

Q9

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Patrick Hurley (Southport) (Lab):

I thank the Prime Minister for his words in relation to the horrific attack in my constituency, and for the work that the Government are doing as a result. The families affected do not want their lives to be defined by the attack, and we must not allow my great town to be defined by it either. That is why I am asking for the Prime Minister’s help to ensure that my town’s best days lie ahead. My council is helping to bring empty town centre properties back into residential use. It is a much-needed corrective after years of decline and neglect under the previous Government, but more needs to be done. Does the Prime Minister agree that our town centres need place-based funding, and will he back my bid for Southport to be included in the next round of Pride in Place support?

Having sat with my hon. Friend and the families of those impacted in Southport in his constituency a number of times, I thank him for everything that he did and is continuing to do in response to that awful attack. I agree with him wholeheartedly that Southport cannot be defined by what happened in that awful, tragic incident; he is right to have pride in his community. I am delighted we are investing in reopening the iconic Southport pier. We are investing £5.8 billion through our Pride in Place fund to put power and resources into the hands of nearly 300 communities. Only a Labour Government will deliver that kind of change.

Having sat with my hon. Friend and the families of those impacted in Southport in his constituency a number of times, I thank him for everything that he did and is continuing to do in response to that awful attack. I agree with him wholeheartedly that Southport cannot be defined by what happened in that awful, tragic incident; he is right to have pride in his community. I am delighted we are investing in reopening the iconic Southport pier. We are investing £5.8 billion through our Pride in Place fund to put power and resources into the hands of nearly 300 communities. Only a Labour Government will deliver that kind of change.

Lords statement on the Southport Inquiry.

Lords statement on the Southport Inquiry.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for today’s Statement. There are many things to learn but our foremost concern must be with the victims and their families. This report is littered with evidence of institutional failure. Time and again, public bodies were presented with the evidence and given the chance...

My Lords, I thank the Minister for today’s Statement. There are many things to learn but our foremost concern must be with the victims and their families. This report is littered with evidence of institutional failure. Time and again, public bodies were presented with the evidence and given the chance...

My Lords, I commend the Statement made in the other place. Our thoughts remain with the families of Elsie Dot, Bebe and Alice, and with those still living with the physical and psychological scars of Southport.

The Liberal Democrats welcome the first phase of Sir Adrian Fulford’s inquiry. Its findings are...

My Lords, I commend the Statement made in the other place. Our thoughts remain with the families of Elsie Dot, Bebe and Alice, and with those still living with the physical and psychological scars of Southport.

The Liberal Democrats welcome the first phase of Sir Adrian Fulford’s inquiry. Its findings are...

My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to address the Statement that my right honourable friend the Home Secretary made in the House of Commons yesterday. My thoughts and, I know, those of the whole House will be with the families of the three girls who were killed and...

My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to address the Statement that my right honourable friend the Home Secretary made in the House of Commons yesterday. My thoughts and, I know, those of the whole House will be with the families of the three girls who were killed and...

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for his comprehensive answers. He is of course absolutely right that, for many of the recommendations, the Government must take the time to think through their response to get it right. However, people looking at the Fulford report will have noticed the...

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for his comprehensive answers. He is of course absolutely right that, for many of the recommendations, the Government must take the time to think through their response to get it right. However, people looking at the Fulford report will have noticed the...

That is an absolutely fair point. Again I put to the House that Sir Adrian’s recommendations are clear. There are five areas of failing. We are looking at those recommendations and will report on them in the summer. The second phase is looking at the wider picture. We will look...

That is an absolutely fair point. Again I put to the House that Sir Adrian’s recommendations are clear. There are five areas of failing. We are looking at those recommendations and will report on them in the summer. The second phase is looking at the wider picture. We will look...

My Lords, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and Southport. In the immediate days after this unspeakable tragedy, additional resources were put into Southport in terms of policing and counselling for young people in the local community and local schools. The support provided by the local...

My Lords, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and Southport. In the immediate days after this unspeakable tragedy, additional resources were put into Southport in terms of policing and counselling for young people in the local community and local schools. The support provided by the local...

My noble friend makes the valid point that the whole community in Southport and in Merseyside, and the religious community in the area, came together to give support to the families. This happened two weeks after the general election. The local MP, Patrick Hurley, had just been elected. I pay...

My noble friend makes the valid point that the whole community in Southport and in Merseyside, and the religious community in the area, came together to give support to the families. This happened two weeks after the general election. The local MP, Patrick Hurley, had just been elected. I pay...

My Lords, I cannot imagine what it is like for the parents of those three little girls and the other injured children to hear

the key word that was used in relation to the inquiry: that these events were “preventable”. That is the most chilling idea: they could have been...

My Lords, I cannot imagine what it is like for the parents of those three little girls and the other injured children to hear

the key word that was used in relation to the inquiry: that these events were “preventable”. That is the most chilling idea: they could have been...