How will £18m be spent tackling homelessness in Birmingham and Coventry?

More than £18m is set to be put towards tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in Birmingham and Coventry.

The funding would support hundreds experiencing or at risk of homelessness with new supported housing and mental health support.

West Midlands Combined Authority's (WMCA) Investment Board is being asked to back the plans when it meets on Monday.

The two cities were among 40 areas identified as having the highest levels of need selected for a government supported housing fund.

According to its data for the year between April 2024 and March 2025, the WMCA region had the second highest rate of households assessed as homeless per 100,000 households in the UK, at 9.3, after London.

Demand rose from 5.9 households per 100,000 in the year 2018-2019, with reasons including domestic abuse, tenancies ending and evictions from supported housing.

Just under a third of applicants assessed as entitled to help from their local authority were aged between 25 and 34, with applicants from black, mixed and other ethnicities overrepresented.

There were 6,956 homelessness applications to the local authority in Birmingham for support, with a further 3,230 in Coventry.

Of £18,266,172, just over £13.4m will be handed to Birmingham and more than £4.4m for Coventry.

A total of £395,000 will be held by the WMCA for coordination and oversight of supported housing need across the region.

In Birmingham, the city council plans to use the funding on 27 new supported housing units staffed around the clock, that are wheelchair-accessible, according to a report to the WMCA's committee.

The accommodation would include six female-only emergency accommodation beds and 10 beds for individuals requiring care-level support outside hospital discharge pathways.

The authority also aims to increase its support across existing services, including help with moving on and independent living.

In addition, eight dedicated caseworkers will support an estimated 240–320 individuals each year to access homelessness assessments and prevention interventions, and those at high risk of rough sleeping.

In Coventry, the city council is proposing 66 new beds aimed at supporting about 215 a year.

Its plans are focusing on a new 23-bed "micro hostel" for people with complex needs, 20 units of dedicated mental health supported accommodation, intermediate hospital and prison step-down beds, and expanded domestic abuse provision.

All proposals are in addition to existing commissioned provision.

The government's Supported Housing Funding Programme is part of the its £3.5bn three-year plan to end homelessness.

It has allocated £139m nationally to the programme.

The funding allocation for the WMCA will be split over a period of three years between 2026 and 2029.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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