The leader of Redbridge Council has praised the government for setting up a rough sleeping fund.

Cllr Jas Athwal welcomed the news that the government will be setting up a £100 million fund with the aim to end rough sleeping on England’s streets by 2027.

The money will work in tandem with the government’s new rough sleeping strategy that aims to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place.

But the plans have been criticised by some for not going far enough.

And those in charge of the plans revealed that half of the promised cash was not new money, but had already been directed to homelessness and rough sleeping, with the other half being “re-prioritised” from existing budgets.

Cllr Athwal, leader of Redbridge Council, said: “This is finally a step in the right direction but more needs to be done to support those with no recourse to public funds.

“Many of those on our streets in Redbridge are unable to be helped by our services because of these inflexible rules.

“I want to praise the government for finally listening and including much needed mental health services to solve the problem, and help people off the streets. We have been saying this for many years.”

A spokesman for Redbridge Labour said: “Redbridge Labour won elections in the borough earlier this year on a platform that we shouldn’t just be seeking to address street homelessness, but to end it.

“Redbridge Labour have an ambition to wipe out rough sleeping in Redbridge.”