SENIOR councillors have accepted a £232,808 government grant to keep convicted criminals from living on the streets and returning behind bars on behalf of five East Lancashire boroughs.

The money will pay for two specialist officers to support ex-offenders find homes and provide cash to help them rent properties.

The award from the government's Accommodation for Ex-offenders Programme (AFEO) will cover Burnley, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Pendle, and Rossendale boroughs.

It will fund the continued employment of two support officers working within Calico’s Gateway Housing Project and the provision of incentive packages to assist access into the private rented sector.

The programme is targeted at 'reducing repeat offending by accessing settled accommodation and providing support'.

Acceptance of the grant was confirmed by Burnley Council's executive on Thursday night.

The council was the lead authority for the bid to government for the cash.

The unanimous decision continues the work of the programme which started in 2021.

The new deal will run for two years until 2025.

A report to the meeting said: "Since 2021 authorities in East Lancashire have worked together to secure accommodation for ex-offenders funding from the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities and have commissioned Calico Homes to deliver this.

"The AFEO was introduced to support homeless prison leavers to access the private rented sector and reduce the instances of rough sleeping and reoffending.

"To ensure East Lancashire councils continued to benefit from AFEO funding Burnley Council agreed to act as lead authority and submit a joint bid on behalf of Rossendale, Pendle, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley.

"The bid was successful, and the councils have been awarded a total of £232,808. The funding runs up to March 31 2025."