Edward has pledged to work to help end rough sleeping at a St Mungo’s event in Parliament hosted by fellow Conservative MP, Mary Robinson.
Edward joined St Mungo’s clients, parliamentarians and charity representatives, in the House of Commons to discuss the government’s commitment to end rough sleeping, with Local Government & Communities Secretary, Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Local Government Minister, Marcus Jones MP, and Shadow Communites Secretary, John Healey MP, all also attending.
St Mungo's provides a bed and support to 2,700 people a night who are either homeless or at risk of homelessness. Edward was one of more than 50 parliamentarians who attended the cross-Party event at which each MP was also given a special advent calendar with doors opening to reveal steps that St Mungo’s clients have taken on their journey out of rough sleeping. This calendar was designed using information from real stories shared by some of the 2,700 clients for whom St Mungo’s provides housing and support each night.
Following the event, Edward said: “Ending rough sleeping has been a challenge for our society under governments of all parties over many decades. While progress has been made, there still remains more to do and I am pleased that my colleague, the Secretary of State for Communities, Sajid Javid, has stressed the government’s resolve to end rough sleeping, that he highlighted the Government’s strong record of action so far in tackling the problem including the announcement of a new homelessness taskforce in the recent Budget, and that so many have personally pledged to help end rough sleeping.
I also want to pay tribute to St Mungo's for the great work they do on this hugely important issue. The importance of tackling homelessness is something on which I hope everyone can agree."