Charity makes £300m homeless plea

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A charity has urged the government to spend £300m over the next three years on education for homeless people.

Crisis wants the money invested so the homeless can gain skills which will allow them to lead an independent life.

The charity says 97% of homeless people in the UK want a job but 37% have no qualifications, and more than half have been out of work for over three years.

The Department for Communities and Local Government said training for the homeless was a "key strategy".

Christmas initiative

Crisis wants the government to use its upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review to pledge £30m a year to extend a programme of hostel improvements.

And it wants to see a further £70m awarded annually to enable 40,000 homeless people to undertake the specially designed Learning Power Award qualification.

Leslie Morphy, chief executive of Crisis, said: "Learning can literally change lives.

"If the government recognised the importance of learning in tackling homelessness and committed substantial funds, we could help so many more homeless people."

A record 5,900 volunteers are set to support the charity's Crisis Open Christmas initiative, which provides homeless people with a place to go over the festive period.

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: "Getting homeless people into training and employment is a key part of the government's strategy for preventing and reducing homelessness.

"We are providing £90m through the Hostel Capital Improvement Programme to make hostels places of change."