Veterans shouldn't sleep rough this Christmas, Burnham says

- Published

No one who served in the UK armed forces should have to sleep on the streets this Christmas, Andy Burnham has said.

Downing Street said the PM would personally write to councils across England on Armistice Day (11 November) to urge them to draw up plans to offer accommodation for veterans sleeping rough ahead of the festive period.

He will say that national and local government should work under the "simple principle" that "no one who has served our country should ever be left to sleep rough on our streets".

The Conservatives have meanwhile criticised Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy for seeming to link participation in an EU scheme for young people with the armed forces' sacrifices on Remembrance Sunday.

Burnham will ask local authorities to use part of the additional £874m already announced to tackle homelessness specifically for housing veterans.

"People who stepped forward prepared to put their lives on the line for the rest of us should never lack a roof over their head," Burnham said in a statement issued on Saturday.

"When they need help, the country owes them more than warm words. It owes them a bed every night, a proper plan and someone in their corner from day one."

The PM will ask councils to work with local organisations and charities to tackle homelessness amongst veterans.

Downing Street said an additional £8.7m in funding would be allocated to eight organisations across the UK to help housing providers offer assistance to veterans with complex needs, including those with health or addiction problems.

Among them are Veteran Housing Scotland, Launchpad and SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity.

The pledge, announced ahead of Remembrance Sunday, is part of Burnham's wider plan to offer everyone currently sleeping rough a bed this winter.

The most recent official figures estimated that there were 4,793 people sleeping rough, external on a single night in autumn 2025 in England - a record high. The number of people recorded as sleeping rough has been on the rise since 2021.

The government has committed £4.4bn in total to end rough sleeping.

Burnham previously faced criticism from the Conservatives for failing to end rough sleeping while he was the mayor of Greater Manchester.

He argued that Manchester's scheme attracted rough sleepers from the surrounding regions, adding that "it's only if everywhere does it at the same level that you can actually end rough sleeping".

Liberal Democrats defence spokesman James MacCleary MP said the funding was an "important first step" but that "a one-off cash injection won't fix a crisis years in the making".

He urged Burnham to guarantee long-term funding for councils to tackle homelessness "for good" and to put in place measures to prevent veterans "falling through the cracks in the first place".

The prime minister is urging any veterans who are sleeping rough, or those supporting them, to call a UK-wide helpline on 0800 9520774 to be connected directly to housing and other specialist support.

Separately on Sunday, the culture secretary set out the UK's renewed participation in the EU's Erasmus programme of educational and cultural exchanges for young people after six years.

The UK will rejoin the programme in January, enabling students and other young people to study, train or get work experience in the EU.

In the announcement, Nandy added: "As we remember the immense courage of those who served our country, we honour them by building the best opportunities for the next generation through closeness and collaboration with our allies."

Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake responded by saying veterans had not fought for a "student exchange scheme".

He argued that it was "tone deaf and frankly shameful" to announce this on Remembrance Sunday.

"It is not a day for a Labour minister to try to make an EU membership pitch," the Tory chairman added.