Norfolk council leader pledges 'we will do our best' to help rough sleepers
More support has been offered to homeless people during the pandemic
Last updated 18th Mar 2021
Norfolk's council leader has pledged to do what he can to keep people off the streets after lockdown.
During the pandemic, rough sleepers have been given accommodation in night shelters or hotels in attempts to keep them safe from Covid.
And now Andrew Proctor says he will continue that work with district councils: "How can we keep this going? There is a common desire across the county, and probably across the country too, to make sure this kind of work does continue to reduce the number of people sleeping on the streets as much as possible.
"It's a big, big piece of work and we'll do our best to continue doing that."
He's praising everyone who's been involved in the effort to get rough sleepers off the street.
He added: "Everyone has seen this and we've looked and thought we've actually done a really good job.
"I commend all of my district council colleagues, because they have been on the front line in this and they've done extremely well."
The leader made the comments during our exclusive Leaders in Lockdown interview.
WATCH: You can see the full #LeadersinLockdown interview when it premiere's here at 7pm tonight:
This pledge from the Norfolk council boss comes as the Government has announced more funding to help the homeless after coronavirus "exposed the scale" of rough sleepers in the UK.
The 'Everyone In' Initiative launched during the pandemic took in over 37-thousand people sleeping on the streets by January 2021.
The Public Accounts Committee says that number was nearly nine times more than official estimates.