Andy Burnham has pledged that no military veteran should sleep rough this Christmas and will ask councils across England to draw up specific accommodation plans, linking his promise to funding and specialist support.

The Prime Minister will write to local authorities on Armistice Day, 11 November, urging them to use part of the additional £874 million announced since he took office to tackle homelessness among veterans. His letter will call for national and local government to work together so that former service personnel are not left on the streets.

Announced ahead of Remembrance Sunday, the commitment forms part of his wider pledge to offer everyone currently sleeping rough a bed this winter. Providing a route off the streets by the end of the year was among his first promises in office.

“When they need help, the country owes them more than warm words. It owes them a bed every night, a proper plan and someone in their corner from day one,” Burnham said.

He praised councils already working with charities supporting the ex-forces community, arguing that the new funding would allow them to end the need for veterans to sleep rough.

The proposed support extends beyond accommodation. Eight organisations across the United Kingdom, including providers in Scotland, Liverpool and Kent, will share £8.7 million through the Reducing Veteran Homelessness programme. The money is intended to support housing providers helping veterans with complex health needs, addiction problems and employment.

Recipients are Veteran Housing Scotland, Launchpad, Alabare, The Riverside Group, Wigan Council, The Royal British Veterans Enterprise (RBVE), SSAFA, The Armed Forces Charity, and Tom Harrison House.

The distinction matters: the pledge concerns a bed each night, while the specialist programme also addresses needs that accommodation alone does not resolve. Delivery will depend on councils translating the funding and forthcoming request into local plans; the commitment is not yet an account of completed placements.

Veterans sleeping rough, and people supporting them, can call the UK-wide helpline on 0800 9520774 for connections to housing and specialist services. It has already helped more than 1,250 veterans into housing.