An extra £9.6 million to help rough sleepers make a permanent move away from the streets was announced today by Housing Minister Caroline Flint.

The funding will support an additional 11 projects and two existing ones to improve and build new hostels and homelessness services across the country, helping homeless people back into independent living by giving them new skills and training.

The new services will enable residents to learn practical skills such as catering or decorating, through to establishing new social enterprises.

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It brings the total investment under the Government's Places of Change Programme to £80 million over the next three years which will deliver 80 schemes, transforming hostels and homelessness services.

Ms Flint said: "It is fantastic to see what can be achieved with the right people, the right vision and the right support. Endell Street is a wonderful example of how a hostel has been transformed to help homeless people back into independent living through skills and training. We want to do more to help rough sleepers make a permanent move away from the streets and this investment will help to ensure the support is there."

The Hostels Capital Improvement Programme has already proved successful in tackling homelessness and providing value for money, with transformed hostels and homelessness services showing a 30% increase in clients moving on successfully into training, education, employment, or independent living as a result of new services available.

(CD/JM)