Local charity The Outside Project is running a temporary shelter on the upper floor of the disused Clerkenwell fire station, for at least a year, while grassroots outreach group Streets Kitchen will work alongside other agencies, such as Stonewall Housing, to run an advice centre downstairs. A spokesperson said: “I’m really pleased they are putting […]
Councils are facing the biggest cuts to government funding since 2010 despite unprecedented pressure and demand, which could risk “tipping many over the edge”, local authorities have warned. Figures show that the revenue support grant – the main source of government funding for local services – will be cut by 36 per cent next year, marking the largest annual deduction in almost […]
Unusual London marathons must run in the family for Tom Harrison – better known as Mr Gorilla, the Metropolitan police officer crawled the length of the course two years ago. Now his sons Nicholas and Alex, aged eight and six, have finished the course alongside him, in a time of 13 hours and two minutes, […]
Support services for single homeless people in England have lost £5bn since 2009, leaving people at risk with “nowhere to turn”, charities say. Analysis for St Mungo’s and Homeless Link found as councils faced central government funding cuts, such services lost an average of £590m a year, according to BBC News. Rough sleeping rose 165% […]
A council has removed £100 fines for begging after finding the penalties had little effect. The Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) were introduced in five areas of Southampton in April 2016. Southampton City Council said: “Few of these fixed penalties were paid and they did little to change the behaviour of these individuals.” But business […]
Government claims that rough sleeping rates in England are falling cannot be trusted because they are based on unreliable figures, the UK’s statistics chief has warned. Sir David Norgrove said an “apparent methodological change” in the way local authorities record rough sleeping meant the statistics “should not be used to draw firm conclusions” or to support claims about […]
A youth homelessness charity has secured funding to launch the UK’s first ‘Radio Station for the Homeless’. The charity Accumulate received the start-up funding from Nesta as a part of its Amplified programme, designed to encourage creative digital ideas that generate positive social outcomes, reports the Big Issue. The project is the brainchild of Marice Cumber, […]
Councils have been accused of using a “form of social cleansing” after it emerged they were misusing powers to hand out fines for rough sleeping. There has been an 89 per cent rise in local authorities issuing Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) which criminalise acts such as rough sleeping and begging, in the last three years, according […]
Private landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants at short notice without good reason under new plans. The government says it wants to protect renters from “unethical” landlords and give them more long-term security, reports the BBC. Section 21 notices allow landlords to evict renters without a reason after their fixed-term tenancy period […]
A rise in homelessness and cocaine injecting are behind a 10-fold increase in HIV infection among drug users, research suggests. The Glasgow city centre outbreak is the UK’s largest in more than 30 years, reports the BBC. The study – conducted between 2011 and 2018 – involved almost 4,000 people who inject drugs in Greater […]
