4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Winter 2021 4.2 This year alone the department have committed over £750 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the department has sought to make sure that local authorities have the resources they require to support rough sleepers as the pandemic has evolved. That has meant that there have been more short-term funding streams in 2020/21 than usual. However, the department recognises the value of streamlining funding streams where possible to improve efficiency and minimise burdens on local authorities and voluntary sector partners. The department has, for example, combined the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant and the Homelessness Reduction Grant into one funding stream in 2022 to help local authorities manage local homelessness pressures: The Homelessness Prevention Grant. Funding for the Rough Sleeping Initiative in 2021 includes funding to support rough sleepers from the pandemic and throughout the winter, consolidating several funding streams. 4.3 The department will work across government to consider the support that is required to end rough sleeping, including financial and non-financial aspects. Decisions on future funding will be a matter for the 2021 Spending Review, and this will consider the long-term value for money of the departments spending. 4.4 The department’s evaluation programme continues to assess the impacts of homelessness and rough sleeping policy, building on the high-quality evaluations that have been delivered over the last few years, such as the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) impact evaluation. The Rough Sleeping Questionnaire has allowed for a more robust approach to considering how these impacts relate to social outcomes, by giving an insight into the service use and individual and social harms associated with sleeping rough. Over the medium term, the use of linked administrative data will give new insight into how people sleeping rough interact with public services. The department is committed to using these tools and insights to improve the department’s assessments of value for money in the appraisal and evaluation of its policies.