Former rough sleepers in Yorkshire have given a cautious welcome to Prime Minister Andy Burnham's pledge to end homelessness across the country, made as his first commitment after taking office on Monday. The government has promised an extra £340m for the policy, which will fund 1,200 homes and "intensive support" for at least 3,000 people over five years, with Burnham saying he wants to focus on "investing in people's success rather than paying for failure".

Kiran Ali Karn, homeless for a decade and now living in hostel accommodation in Bradford while recovering from addiction and PTSD, said she had "some hope" and "faith" in the plan, though her friend James Hudson, who struggled to secure emergency housing after leaving prison, said he felt "slightly more pessimistic". The scepticism echoes Burnham's own record as Greater Manchester mayor, where a 2017 pledge to end rough sleeping by 2020 cut numbers from 268 to 90 by 2021, only for them to rise again to 197 by 2025. Richard Cooper of Harrogate Homeless Project called ending rough sleeping entirely "very, very ambitious" but said making it a "once-only experience" through joined-up support from the NHS, councils, probation and charities was achievable, adding that homelessness "can happen to anybody".