EXCLUSIVE: Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said she was confident the commitment given by Andy Burnham to offer all rough sleepers an offer of a bed by Christmas would be delivered on
Andy Burnham’s promise to offer all rough sleepers a bed this winter will not just be a gimmick for Christmas, Angela Rayner has insisted.
The Housing Secretary, who is responsible for delivering on the Prime Minister’s flagship pledge, said she was confident the commitment would be delivered on.
Ms Rayner told The Mirror’s new YouTube show, Sense Check: “The reason I am [confident] is because I have been incredibly proud of seeing the response by the public, by philanthropists, by local government, by mayors, to Andy Burnham’s pledge to end rough sleeping.
“That doesn’t mean everybody will take that offer, but certainly I’ve been working with the community and voluntary sector, local authorities, we’ve put that record investment – £442 million into that.”
Pressed on what happens after Christmas, Ms Rayner said: “We continue. We double down. I want people to know that their offer is there. It’s not just there for Christmas, it’s not a gimmick.”
In total there were 4,793 rough sleepers in the autumn 2025 – a 171% hike on 2010 – according to the most recent snapshot data available.
But the Cabinet minister refused to be drawn on the housing benefit freeze ahead of Chancellor John Healey’s maiden Budget on October 28 – but said the policy is “reviewed annually”.
Asked how the freeze could be justified, Ms Rayner said: “Local housing allowance has been frozen for a period of time and it’s something that is a concern alongside what was section 21 no-fault evictions that were happening at the same time. We’ve solved that and that and that is something that’s reviewed annually.
“But the challenge that we’ve got is we’re putting more money into housing allowance and people are paying more money for rents and on housing than ever before.
“And the problem there is because we don’t have the supply. We don’t have council housing, we don’t have social housing, and we’re paying more for less in effect. So therefore we’ve got to fix that.”
Ms Rayner – a former care worker – also described being asked to attend one of the new Prime Minister’s first major interventions over the summer where he delivered a speech at a care home.
The Cabinet minister said around 20 years earlier she had berated a young Mr Burnham – then the MP for Leigh – as a union rep over issues facing care workers, including short 15-minute home care visits.
Ms Rayner told Sense Check: “Anyway, so then fast forward, and Andy becomes Prime Minister. He puts me back in the cabinet, which I was really grateful for. And then he asked me to attend his announcement he was making over summer at the care home where he was talking about this national care service.
“I’m sat there. And he mentions the 15 minute care calls and he makes his speech without any notes. And I just sat there and I thought, I’ve waited a long time for a Prime Minister to say that, I was getting emotional.
“Sat there and thinking, this feels different. It feels like he gets it. He’ll finish my sentence on things like the ending rough sleeping. He really has an interest in the areas and the things I care about.
“So it’s like pushing against an open door, basically. That feels really positive to me. That’s different.
“Whereas before, it felt like you had to really fight the arguments, whereas now it just feels like, you’re not arguing about what you’re doing. You’re arguing about how you get there.”
