A GROUND-breaking scheme developed in partnership with Redbridge Council to help the borough's homeless has scooped a cash boost.

The Working Future project, aimed at helping homeless people stuck in the poverty trap get accommodation and get back into work, has been awarded a £2 million Government grant.

The cash has been given by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister three adjoining councils, Redbridge, Newham and Waltham Forest, and the Greater London Authority and the east Thames Group, which have all been working together on the initiative.

Under the project, part of which will be piloted in Redbridge, the cost of private sector temporary accommodation will be provided at a reduced cost to tenants struggling to get back into proper housing. The aim of this is to cut their dependence on housing benefit and encourage them back to work.

Praising the new initiative, Nick Hall, chairman of the board of trustees at Redbridge Night Shelter, said: "When people come out of our shelter they find it very difficult to find permanent private accommodation because a lot of the time you need a huge deposit and a job and references. It's a catch 22 in a lot of cases. The scheme sounds very good for anyone who's homeless."

Local authorities are increasingly having to use private sector temporary accommodation owing to the dwindling amount of social housing available and an increased demand for housing vulnerable people.

There are around 2,068 households in temporary accommodation in the borough and the average rent for such accommodation is around £300 a week, compared with £80 a week for social housing.

The initiative means rent for tenants will drop to around £80 a week and people taking part in the scheme will continue to claim housing benefit at a reduced rate, with the rest of the accommodation costs met through a Working Future project grant made directly to the council from the Government.

The grant will be paid to the scheme over the next two years.

The average stay in temporary accommodation for these households ranges from two to seven years. Most live in private sector leased temporary accommodation where rents average £300 per week, leading to a total reliance on housing and other benefits.