Top Tory pledges £100m to tackle ‘zombie’ drug problem of Britain’s homeless

A TOP Tory declared war on “zombie” drugs claiming the lives of Britain’s homeless.

The pledge by Communities Secretary James Brokenshire came as he admitted the Government hadn’t done enough to tackle rough sleeping.

He unveiled a new £100million push to “eliminate” rough sleeping by 2027.

Some £30million will be spent on mental health and treatment for substance abuse.

This involves money for rough sleepers hooked on synthetic drug ‘spice’.

Around 35 per cent of all rough sleeping deaths are linked to drugs and addiction.

Taxpayers will also have to fork out £5million to deal with the growing numbers of non-UK nationals sleeping rough on our streets.

Nearly 4 in 10 of rough sleepers are now from overseas and a court ruling in December meant the Home Office can no longer deport rough sleepers back to the EU.

New ‘navigators’ will also be seconded to local authorities to help guide rough sleepers recover and rebuild their lives.

Mr Brokenshire – who is back from a cancer scare in January – said: “I am determined that this will not be just a document that sits on the self as many strategies do and simply be there as a reference point.

“I want this to be a living document and something that we will report back on annually in terms of how we are delivering it.”

Official figures estimate there were at least 4,750 people in England were homeless in 2017, up 15 per cent.

Labour’s Shadow Housing Secretary John Healey said: “This is a feeble plan that lacks any urgency to tackle the crisis of rising rough sleeping.

“The scale of the problem is clear today but the Government’s target means waiting almost a decade to deal with this crisis.”

Former Integration Tsar Louise Casey added that there was no way rough sleeping could be eradicated by 2027.

She told BBC’s The Westminster Hour the numbers were just “too high”.

But she added: “If they get their act together and really get delivery and action in place, they can do a damn sight more than they’re doing at the moment.”