HOMELESS people across the Eastleigh borough are to benefit from a major cash injection.

Eastleigh Borough Council is to receive £172,000 a year for the next two years in a bid to reduce the number of homeless people within the borough.

This comes after the Eastleigh-based charity Fledge opened a new home in the town centre for young, vulnerable homeless.

Now further plans to help homeless people in the borough have been unveiled.

The cash boost will come from central government and will be spent on homelessness services and two specialists who will work to improve the services provided for homeless people across the borough.

They will also work with all households placed in bed-and-breakfasts and temporary accommodation to ensure that they are linked with partner agencies and claiming appropriate benefits to meet the costs of their accommodation.

Any surplus funds will go in a ring-fenced Homelessness Prevention Fund for use by officers involved in front-line service delivery.

Council leader Keith House said: “The government’s mis-management of the economy with Brexit and Hampshire County Council budget cuts are increasing homelessness. Eastleigh Borough Council takes tackling homelessness really seriously.

“Two new staff to work on with alongside the council’s increased funding of affordable homes will make a real difference to reducing homelessness.”

The scheme aims at ensuring the borough council meets

the requirement of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, due to come into force in April 2018.

Eastleigh MP Mims Davies said: “This comes on top of the £50 million that the Government spent this time last year to tackle the issue of homelessness, and I am particularly pleased to see that this additional money will be having a positive impact on Eastleigh in the very near future.”