A £46 million scheme to provide more effective and coordinated support for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities was launched today (10 December 2020) by Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing Kelly Tolhurst.

The government is inviting local organisations to form partnerships and bid for a share of the funding to better support those who experience multiple disadvantages including homelessness, substance misuse, mental health issues, domestic abuse, and contact with the criminal justice system.

These people are among the most vulnerable in our communities, facing entrenched disadvantage and trauma. They often experience difficulties in getting the coordinated support from local services that they need.

This can lead to increased reoffending, greater risk of rough sleeping and ill-health and can result in a higher demand and costs for local response services and the criminal justice system.

The ‘Changing Futures’ programme aims to establish new, innovative and co-ordinated ways to better support vulnerable adults. The prospectus, published today, invites expressions of interest from organisations such as councils, health bodies, police, probation services, voluntary and community sector organisations to form local partnerships.

Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Kelly Tolhurst said:

This £46 million funding will help some of the most vulnerable people in our communities turn their lives around and build a brighter future.

The ‘Changing Futures’ programme gives local organisations the flexibility and resources they need to work in partnership to deliver effective support where it is needed most. I look forward to receiving really innovative bids for projects that will make a real difference to so many people’s lives

The Programme, announced at the Budget, aims to deliver improvements at the individual, service and system level:

• for individuals, to stabilise and then improve the life situation of adults who face multiple disadvantage
• for services, to better integrate local services to provide a person-centred approach and to reduce demand on reactive services
• for the local system, to test a different approach to funding, accountability and engagement between local commissioners and services, and central government and local areas

The programme will run alongside evaluation, applying learning from local areas to national policymaking, aiming to deliver better outcomes with taxpayers’ money.

New reports commissioned by the government and published today (Thursday 10 December 2020) raise the prospect of a limited reopening of the Hammersmith Bridge to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic.

In September, the Department for Transport invited respected engineering consultants AECOM and Professor Norman Fleck of the University of Cambridge – an expert in fracture mechanics – to review engineering studies of the bridge’s condition previously undertaken by consultants for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF).

The reports, published today, looked in detail at the computer modelling and risk assessments undertaken to date by LBHF’s consultants and of the bridge strengthening works proposed by Transport for London (TfL). They conclude that earlier risk assessments were conservative and, as there is now a better understanding of how the bridge might be behaving, suggest assumptions on its closure should be revisited.

The reports recommend LBHF and its consultants reconsider whether the bridge can be reopened, albeit with restrictions, in its current state to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic. Further mitigation measures will be needed. These include blast-cleaning the paint from the 2 remaining pedestals so that any hidden fractures can be identified, as well as potentially installing further monitoring equipment.

AECOM and Fleck’s reports recognise that our understanding of the bridge’s condition and behaviour has improved considerably since March of this year when the current risk assessment was prepared. The government is therefore calling on LBHF to review AECOM and Fleck’s work and consider their rationale for a full closure of the bridge, with a focus on exploring all avenues for a partial reopening.

Transport Minister Baroness Vere said:

Today’s reports set out that there is potentially a route to Hammersmith Bridge being partially reopened and without major works, which is something I know people in the area will welcome.

I’m therefore calling on Hammersmith & Fulham Council to seriously consider these reports so we can do right by people who have been impacted by this bridge’s closure, and help people move around London easily again as soon as is safely possible.

We remain committed to finding a funding solution for the bridge’s full repair and reopening to vehicular traffic.

The government has provided the funding for removing ornate cast-iron casings and blast cleaning 2 western pedestals via the extraordinary funding and financing deal agreed with TfL on 31 October 2020. This work is expected to be carried out by April 2021. The eastern pedestals have already been blast-cleaned.

Given any reopening before the stabilisation works have been completed will have to be restricted, we continue to work on delivering a ferry service across the river as a temporary measure. Also, as part of the extraordinary funding and financing package, TfL will establish and run this service using active travel funding, alongside any local contributions. Public procurement activity for the ferry is underway, with service commencement targeted for spring 2021.

Previously published copies of the monthly National Statistics publication on the number of cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered in the UK.

Monthly UK statistics on cattle, sheep and pig slaughter and meat production.

The Agricultural Price Index (API) is a set of indices of the prices paid and received by UK farmers for agricultural goods and services.