Milton Keynes Council hopes to move forward in battle against homelessness

The council is already working to accommodate homeless families, with more than 500 families currently living in temporary accommodation, such as B&Bs.

This mirrors the housing crisis nationally, and locally and the council is pro-actively tackling this problem by building new council houses, leasing properties in the private sector, together with preventative measures such as working more closely with private landlords.

The new report focuses attention on people that the council may not have a duty to house but who nevertheless may have complex needs that require support and advice, for example rough sleepers.

Councillor Nigel Long, the cabinet member responsible for health, wellbeing and adults, said: “We may not have a legal obligation to help these people but we do have a moral one.

“Rough sleeping is caused by many factors. Whilst the Council and our various partners already provide a lot of advice and support, we need to seek innovative ways to engage with people in order to help them further.

“There is a lot of really great work being done by our partners in the voluntary sector and we want to build on this and work with them to ensure the best possible service is given to those who are homeless, particularly those sleeping on the streets.”