Are Thousands Of Asylum Seekers About To Be Kicked Out Of Hotels?

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The Big Issue asks: ‘While campaigners, the government and anti-immigration protesters all want to see the end of asylum hotels, what does it mean for the people inside?’

The need to end the use of asylum hotels is seemingly the only thing that all sides of the immigration debate agree on. But it remains to be seen whether this week’s landmark High Court ruling in Epping sees other local authorities force asylum seekers to move out. The court ruling in Epping has already inspired councils elsewhere to consider challenging the Home Office over asylum hotels in their area.

Government figures released in the days following the court decisions showed 32,059 asylum seekers are being housed in hotels across England as of the end of June. That’s up 8% on the same point last year but down slightly on statistics from March and the peak of 56,042 back in September 2023. Those figures could decline further if other local authorities have their way. The temporary injunction in Epping, which will see asylum seekers housed in The Bell Hotel leave by 12 September, has already seen other local authorities report they are considering legal action.

All Reform-led councils, Conservative-run Broxbourne in Hertfordshire and Labour-run councils in Wirral and Tamworth are among the authorities with asylum seeker hotels considering action. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also urged Tory-run councils to challenge. To be successful, the councils would have to follow Epping’s lead to prove that the change of use for the hotels was unlawful and that had led to a risk of harm. A final decision on the situation at The Bell Hotel will follow later this year. But it is more likely that local authorities risk wasting money fighting legal challenges they are unlikely to win, according to Faraz Baber, chief operating officer at planning consultancy at Lanpro.

Baber said the government needs to act to provide clarity. It has the option to extend the C1 class of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 to cover hotel services or allow permitted development rights for C1 to ‘sue generis’ – meaning they can be used for a wider purpose. “Both would prevent a wave of unnecessary legal disputes,” said Baber. “The Bell Hotel case shows the ambiguity in planning law – without urgent action the same confusion will spread across the country. We must not let politics cloud rational planning. At its heart, this is a planning issue – and planning is about balance and pragmatism. Unless the government acts quickly, we risk seeing thousands of vulnerable people caught in limbo – while councils waste resources fighting battles they cannot win.”

Louise Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association, which represents councils across England and Wales, said councils need to be given a bigger say in asylum accommodation decisions whether they can pursue legal action or not. “lt will, of course, be for individual councils to determine what this ruling means for them. We know that asylum and resettlement is linked to wider issues such as housing pressures and community cohesion and that the spread of misinformation remains a concern. Councils are working to help keep communities united during this period,” said Gittins. “In the meantime, we continue to stress to government that the Home Office must work much more closely with councils regarding asylum accommodation decisions and on improving the current asylum system in the long-term. Councils understand their places and communities best and the Home Office should be drawing on this experience in any locating decisions and through the existing engagement around asylum and resettlement that the LGA facilitates.”

Labour has vowed to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029. That’s because they are costly – the use of hotels as asylum accommodation is considered six times more expensive than other accommodation, according to the University of Oxford’s Migrant Observatory – and the accommodation is described as inappropriate. Campaigners and charities supporting asylum seekers liken hotel accommodation as “prison-like”. It’s far from the fully funded luxury stay described in some quarters, with those living in hotel accommodation receiving £8.86 per week from the government. But a shortage of suitable accommodation and a growing backlog for asylum decisions in recent years has seen the need for asylum accommodation grow, particularly as asylum seekers wait for decisions on their claims or the result of their appeals.

Government figures released this week showed the asylum claims backlog has fallen below 100,000 people for the first time in four years, now standing at just over 70,000 cases and relating to almost 91,000 people. That’s an 18% fall on levels seen a year earlier. That represents a measure of success for Labour, but the number of people claiming asylum is at a record-high 110,000 and there is now a backlog for appeals after initial asylum decisions were rejected.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Bringing the asylum system back from the brink of collapse is a genuine achievement in the government’s first year. The increase in asylum decisions means refugees can begin to rebuild their lives sooner, and the use of costly hotels can be ended faster. However, this good work is being put at risk by poor-quality decisions – right now nearly half of appeals are successful. These mistakes have life-changing consequences for the people we work with, who have fled persecution in countries like Sudan and Afghanistan.”

What is the solution to asylum hotels?

So far, solutions to the usage of hotels as asylum accommodation have been hard to come by aside from Labour’s pledge to reduce net migration and the asylum backlog. The use of Napier Barracks and the Bibby Stockholm Barge proved politically difficult amid fears over cost and safety for asylum seekers. Increasing the use of dispersal accommodation could see more asylum seekers placed in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) or private rented homes instead.

Around 17,000 asylum seekers were housed in dispersal accommodation across the country as of December 2024, each receiving £49.18 per week from the government to cover food, clothing and other essentials. These, too, have proven controversial with asylum seekers being placed in communities with little support to aid integration whipping up tensions. In Durham, the Reform UK-led local council in June said that Mears Group had paused housing asylum seekers in HMOs in the area. It has since been claimed as a success for Reform. Durham County Council deputy leader and political commentator Darren Grimes said: “Council officers have raised concerns about the suitability of some properties for acquisition and conversion, particularly regarding local infrastructure capacity and service provision.”

Lanpro’s Faraz Baber said that, ultimately, the planning system needs to keep up with the issue. Labour has already promised a swathe of planning reforms to tackle the housing crisis and boost economic growth. “Planning law is at the heart of this issue, and it is planning that must provide a rational and balanced way forward,” said Baber. “The debate has become too emotive. We must not allow political anger to obscure the practical reality: asylum seekers must be housed somewhere, and the planning system must be adapted to reflect this need.”

There are some proposed solutions that could help reduce the need for hotels. The government could soften the stance on asylum seekers being allowed to work while their claim is being processed, allowing them to sustain themselves and reducing the need for government support. Marley Morris, associate director for migration, trade and communities at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank, said the Home Office will need to expand the stock of temporary accommodation, much like councils around England are doing to deal with record-high homelessness. “In the long run, it [the Home Office] should move to a decentralised model of accommodation with greater local oversight, in order to help manage some of the tensions with local councils, which have reached a height,” said Morris.

Meanwhile, Soha Housing chief executive Kate Wareing laid out a plan for the government to end the use of hotels last year. Wareing proposed a capital fund from central government of £1.75 billion to enable the purchase and renovation of 14,000 to 16,000 homes to be let at local housing allowance rates. The idea would be that this reduces the costs from the asylum system. Wareing said that the average payback period compared to current hotel revenue costs in the asylum system would be just seven months. Long-term, this housing would then be used to boost social landlords’ stock of general needs housing for long-term rent, available for allocation to the general population.

That just leaves Labour, who have committed to spending £39bn on affordable and social housing over the next decade, to make the political case for spending the cash. That’s no easy task in the current political climate with Keir Starmer’s unpopularity reaching a low point in the polls and the threat of wider unrest still on the horizon. “We do not underestimate the challenges involved in building political and public support for this shift in approach, and indeed for any proposal that seeks to address the housing needs of asylum seekers in the context of a severe national housing crisis,” said Wareing. “Yet we are convinced the considerable benefits this proposal offers across a whole range of urgent political priorities will make this possible.”

‘I Was Homeless And Living On The Streets – Now I’m An England Football Player’

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David Kennedy is one of a hand-picked squad representing England at the Homeless World Cup in Oslo, reports The Mirror.

A team of formidable footballers are striking out for England and hoping to replicate the success of the Lionesses at the 20th annual Homeless World Cup in Oslo next week.  Finishing second to Mexico last year, the England line-up have their sights firmly set on the trophy, as they compete against 39 other countries between August 23 and 30. And all the teams are made up of players who have experienced homelessness. The initiative was launched in 2003 and, since then, football has been playing its part to tackle homelessness and social isolation.

Striker David Kennedy, 28, says football allows him to “get out of my head” when he’s on the pitch – and he’s built life-long friendships with his teammates, too. “I had a rough childhood and was in and out of hostels for a lot of it,” he tells The Mirror, ahead of the tournament. David, who is originally from Sunderland and now lives in Newcastle, was hand-picked for the squad because of his promising talent. But, his life used to be very different.

“I find it tough to talk about now,” he admits. “It wasn’t easy. I went down the wrong path at a young age. It took me a long time to realise the importance of friendship groups and surrounding myself with good people.” David’s behaviour became “uncontrollable” when he hit his teenage years and he was placed in foster care. “There’ve been many occasions where I’ve slept on the streets,” he says. “I wasn’t the best behaved as a teenager. I never had that family union thing”

But the birth of his son, now four, helped David start the process of turning his life around after he met girlfriend Tyler, who was also going through homelessness. “He’s a cheeky chap, he must take after his father!” smiles David. “He’s a blessing. He’s done everything for me. I wasn’t in a very good place but I met my partner in a hostel and everything in my life changed. All I do now is go to work and play football. It’s a good life.”

After experiencing everything from sofa-surfing at mates’ houses to sleeping rough, through homelessness, David says the only way to get through it is to “never give up”. “You’ve just got to be strong mentally,” he says. “No matter how low you are, and no matter how far down the line you feel, there’s always an up. There’s a higher place. Just never give up.” David’s mental health deteriorated during his periods of homelessness – at one point making him feel suicidal. “Now I look at my life and I’m just grateful for everything that I have around me,” he says.

Admitting he needed help was the starting point. “You need to find the right support network; you need to make the effort to make yourself available to get help when you need help instead of shutting off from the world” he points out. “Unfortunately, you won’t get anywhere without a bit of help. And it took a lot out of me to admit that, growing up.”

From a young age, playing football helped David take his mind off his living conditions. “As I’ve gone through things, the more I’ve played, the more football is like an escape mechanism,” he explains. “It takes me away from all my problems. I always think about my childhood and things like that, but on the pitch I can clear my mind and just focus on the game.”

Squad manager Craig McManus – who has previously been homeless himself – says he couldn’t be prouder of all his players for their work on and off the pitch. “The big thing for us is changing perspective and stigma, so when we speak to David, we don’t see David’s childhood; we see David the way he is today and the direction he’s going in,” says Craig. “That’s why he’s been selected – not just because he’s a great footballer, but he’s got a real opportunity in his life and he’s worked so hard to get where he is today.”

All of the Team England players have been hand-picked from Street Soccer London and its partners in the north of England. Street Soccer London organises weekly training sessions for men and women who are, or have experienced, homelessness, and has seen a 94% reduction in rough sleeping in its members since launching in 2009. “We’ve got a team of athletes here who have the chance to represent our country and are also learning skills that are so important in day-to-day life,” says Craig. “It’s about how they prepare for a training session, raising their own standards, learning how to get themselves ready on and off the pitch, and hopefully these develop into real life skills. We have high hopes for them now, that they’ll move on to bigger, better things. I think what we do is give them the platform to hopefully grow and then move on – whatever they feel is right.”

Player Kaydan Fenton, 23, from London, spent some time sleeping in a shed after family tensions boiled over. “I felt under pressure to move out,” he says. But football, through Street Soccer London, became a lifeline. “It gives me a chance to express myself on the pitch, to clear my mind for a second and just focus on the game. Football is an outlet for me and I have a passion for it.”

Being homeless, he adds, is never easy. “It puts you in uncomfortable positions and sometimes people feel pressured into doing things they don’t want to do in order to survive.”

One football star who knows exactly what it’s like to walk a mile in their boots is former Lioness Fara Williams MBE, who retired from England in 2021 and was there to commentate on the 2022 Women’s Euro final. She has previously spoken of how isolating it was to be living on the streets after a family relationship breakdown when she was 17, and how she pretended to her teammates that everything at home was fine. “People have a judgement of who should be homeless and who shouldn’t, and I felt people would judge me,” Fara said in 2014. “I put on a brave face and lived my life as a normal person would, as though I was living at home.”

Now a mentor for players at the Homeless World Cup, Fara also credited football with turning her life around, after former England coach Hope Powell found out about her situation when Fara was representing the U-19s.

She escaped homelessness in her 20s after getting work as an FA community coach and moving to Merseyside. Fara went on to help transform the women’s game, and made a record 172 appearances for England between 2001 and 2019.

And, as England prepares to take on the other teams in the tournament, David hopes his team can bring home the trophy for the first time. “The opportunity to represent my country in Oslo is life-changing,” he grins. “It gives me a sense of pride. I hope when my son is a teenager I’ll be able to look back and show him what I did.”

Man Using Homelessness Experience To Help Others

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“I have a passion for helping people. I get a kick out of people coming out the other side”, reports the BBC.

When Steve Young, 36, from Swindon, experienced a relationship breakdown, it left him and his nine-year-old daughter homeless for 10 months. They were put in emergency accommodation, often with other families, which he said had been “very daunting” for his daughter. “I suffered. I had a relapse in my mental health, my job fell through, it was a very bad time,” Mr Young said.

But after getting help from social services and finding long-term accommodation, he secured a role as a support worker at Swindon charity, Threshold, which has released a short film to raise awareness around homelessness. “I was over the moon, I couldn’t believe the opportunity I was given,” Mr Young said about being given the job.

Threshold has been tackling homelessness in Swindon for more than 50 years and helps nearly 100 rough sleepers every night. But homelessness is a growing problem in the town, according to figures collected by Shelter in 2024. The data showed the number of homeless people in Swindon had increased by 26% in a year, from 784 people in June 2023 to 984 in June 2024. Figures also showed the number of children who are homeless in the town had gone up from 352 to 469 in the same 12-month period.

Threshold has released a short film with Create Studios, called Jacob’s Story, which is based on a person the charity worked with in the past. It shows how relationship breakdowns can quickly lead to someone becoming homeless, and the impact it can have on mental health. The film challenges the negative stigmas and misconceptions faced by people living on the streets.

Mr Young said it upsets him that people still hold prejudices against people who are homeless. “Everyone has their own reason of why they’re in that situation. I believe that everyone wants to help themselves in a certain way, but they haven’t always been given the opportunities to do so,” he added. Wiltshire actor, Tom McMillan, stars as Jacob in the film. “It’s an authentic story and it’s something I wanted to tell, to raise awareness for a cause that needs to be talked about more,” he said.

Rachel Harris, Threshold’s communications manager, said she felt the film was an important way to bring the harsh realities of homelessness to life. “It’s not about the assumptions you make about people you see on the street, it’s about the person behind that and how they have come into that situation. Seeing it through a story of somebody who’s really been there and their true experiences can have a lot more impact than just showing people the information on a piece of paper.”

Mr Young now uses his experiences to help others who are in similar circumstances. “If someone is really struggling to get their head around what’s going on with them at the time, I can definitely say, ‘I’ve been in your shoes, anyone can change their life if they put their mind to it’.”

Swindon Borough Council member Janine Howarth said: “Tackling homelessness is a priority for the council and we work closely with Threshold to achieve this. “We have a safe reception space for vulnerable residents to make homelessness applications and discuss personal circumstances, a range of accommodation and support services and a specialist Rough Sleeper Housing Options officer.”

Liverpool Homeless Charity Given £30k Grant To Mark 50 Years

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A Liverpool charity for homeless people has been awarded a £30,700 grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to mark its 50th anniversary, reports the BBC.

The Whitechapel Centre works with people who are sleeping rough, living in hostels or struggling to manage their accommodation.

The charity said the money would fund a project examining how homelessness has changed since 1975.

The Whitechapel Centre’s chief executive David Carter said the project would “share the evolving issues in the last five decades, how we’ve supported those facing homelessness – and the many stories of transformed lives”.

“We’re thrilled to have received this support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund,” said Mr Carter.

The project will develop a social history and a timeline and will feature in an exhibition at the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool later in the year.

National Lottery Heritage Fund director Helen Featherstone said the Whitechapel Centre had “been doing important work for many years related to homelessness in Liverpool”.

She added: “We are delighted to be supporting the charity, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, to explore and share the history of homelessness in the city, and how it has changed throughout the 50 years the charity has been in operation.”

The free exhibition will run from 25 September to 19 October.

Pupil Who Invented Device To Help Homeless Named ‘Girl Of The Year’

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A Glasgow school pupil has been named among Time magazine’s girls of the year for inventing a device to help homeless people keep warm, reports the BBC.

Rebecca Young was 12 when she designed a solar-powered blanket, which engineering firm Thales then turned into reality. The Kelvinside Academy pupil is now among 10 girls from across the world selected by Time who have inspired and helped communities. She told BBC Scotland News that she was shocked and honoured by the recognition, which has also seen her turned into a Lego mini-figure, due to the awards being run in partnership with the Danish toy manufacturer.

Rebecca first came up with the idea when she was aged12 while attending an engineering club at school. She explained: “Seeing all the homeless people, it made me want to help – it’s a problem that should be fixed. During the day, the heat from the sun can energise the solar panels and they go into a battery pack that can store the heat. When it’s cold at night people can use the energy stored in the battery pack to sleep on. In Glasgow it can be freezing at night and they [homeless people] will have no power, so I thought the solar panel could heat it.”

Rebecca’s idea came out on top in the UK Primary Engineer competition, where more than 70,000 pupils entered ideas aimed around addressing a social issue. Engineering company Thales then turned the idea into a working prototype, with 35 units given to Homeless Project Scotland to use in Glasgow. That achievement led Rebecca to a spot on Time’s list, which the magazine’s chief executive Jessica Sibley said highlights “those who are turning imagination into real-world impact”.

Rebecca’s mum Louise told BBC Scotland News: “I couldn’t be more proud, it’s fantastic. It’s obviously all come from a drawing and going from that to it actually being made is amazing.” As part of the honour, Rebecca and the other nine winners are appearing on a digital cover of the famous magazine, where they are styled as Lego mini-figures – something she said was both “really cool and crazy”.

She also had advice for any other girls who wanted to get involved in Stem subjects – an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “If you have an idea like I did, then join clubs and talk to people about it, it helps.” Reflecting on the Time magazine recognition, she added: “All my friends think it’s awesome.” However, Rebecca herself is aiming for a career in a different field rather than engineering, as she would like to be a musician when she is older.

Colin McInnes, the founder of Homeless Project Scotland, said the initiative had already been successful. He added: “When somebody is having to rough sleep because the shelter is full, we can offer that comfort to a homeless person, of having a warm blanket to wrap around them during the night. We would 100% take the opportunity to have more of them.”

Daniel Wyatt, the rector at Kelvinside Academy, said Rebecca was a “shining example of a caring young person”. He added: “She is also a role model for any young person who wants to follow their own path in life.”

What’s Happening With The Renters’ Rights Bill?

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The fight to abolish section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions is entering its final stage, reports Shelter.

After months of waiting, the Renters’ Rights Bill is reaching the end of its journey through parliament and could soon become law. With most of the debates in the House of Commons and House of Lords finished, the final stages of the bill’s journey will begin early in September. But renters can’t truly wave goodbye to the spectre of section 21 evictions until the government passes the bill and then brings these changes into force.

The government promised to ban section 21 evictions ‘immediately’ over a year ago. Yet peers in the House of Lords have slowed down the process and weakened vital tenant rights. MPs have the opportunity to claim back those important rights for renters and push through a strong Renters’ Rights Bill at pace. Renters can’t wait much longer.

Before the turn of the new year, the Renters’ Rights Bill had made rapid progress through its early stages in the House of Commons. Renters won vital protections in the process, including a game-changing ban on landlords asking for more than one month’s rent in advance. More recently, the bill has been marked by slow progress and delays. As a result, one year on from their election, the government have not passed any new laws to protect renters. And there has still been no timeline attached to when ‘no fault’ evictions will finally be scrapped. All the while, renters are being evicted in their thousands.

In the year after Labour were elected, around 25,000 households have been threatened with homelessness due to a section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction (and this continues to rise). And in that time, we’ve also seen some potentially damaging row-backs made to the bill. A disproportionate number of peers in the House of Lords are landlords themselves. They have debated and voted through some worrying revisions. These changes, if held up in the bill’s final stages, would weaken tenants’ rights:

The evidence bar for issuing landlords with fines was increased.

  • Local authorities, under this change, would have to prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that a landlord had broken the rules. Only then would they be able to hit them with a fine. Vital new rights in the bill would be rendered almost worthless – such as the protection of families with children and benefits recipients from discrimination. Discrimination is particularly ‘slippery’ and almost impossible to prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.
  • The ‘no re-letting period’ prevents landlords, who say they’re evicting to move into the property or sell it, from putting the property up for rent again afterwards. It deters landlords from evicting tenants under false pretences just to find a new tenant or let at a higher rent. Reducing this period to 6 months weakens that deterrent and puts the new system at risk of abuse by unscrupulous landlords. We could see many renters continue to be unfairly evicted.
  • A new right for landlords to ask for an extra three weeks’ deposit for tenants with pets was introduced. Tenants with pets could have to pay eight weeks’ deposit in total, on top of moving costs and the first month’s rent. The five-week cap on deposits was a hard-fought right for renters. Increasing the cap for pet owners risks creating an unequal market. Renters with pets could be locked out of rentals by unreasonably large upfront costs.

These last-minute revisions to the bill are not good news for renters. But the government has a strong majority in the House of Commons and a clear manifesto promise to end ‘no fault’ evictions. They have both the power and the responsibility to resist these changes from the House of Lords. More than that, ministers must recognise the urgency of the moment. The Renters’ Rights Bill needs to become law without further delay. And crucially, it must be brought into force swiftly and in full. Every day of inaction means more renters losing their homes through no fault of their own. Renters can’t afford to keep waiting.

What happens next?

There are three stages remaining before the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law.

1. ‘Ping pong’ – Next up is what’s known as ‘consideration of amendments’. MPs debate all changes made by the House of Lords and vote on whether to accept them. If MPs reject the changes, the bill goes back to the House of Lords for peers to review these decisions. Peers can insist on changes, propose compromise positions – or, of course, concede defeat and accept MPs’ decisions. The bill can bounce back and forth between the houses like this – a process known as ‘ping pong’ – several times, until consensus is reached.

2. Royal Assent – Once the bill is acceptable to both houses, it’s scheduled for ‘Royal Assent’. Royal Assent refers to when the King signs the bill, and it finally becomes an Act of Parliament. This is the moment that signals an end to all the debates, amendments and wrangling over the bill’s contents.

3. Commencement – However, in the case of the Renters’ Rights Bill, there’s yet another crucial date to be concerned with: the ‘commencement’ date. This is when the most important changes are actually implemented and make a tangible difference to renters’ lives. It’s the moment section 21 evictions will officially be scrapped. Landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants without giving a reason. The commencement date could come some months after Royal Assent. This will give landlords and tenants time to prepare for their new rights and responsibilities.

Renters need a date

The government has yet to announce the commencement date.

Until they do, renters won’t know when they’ll be able to finally wave goodbye to ‘no fault’ evictions. And with every day that passes before actually bringing these vital changes into force, more renters will be forced out of their homes for no reason at all. The government must get a move on. They must pass this bill without delay and give renters certainty about when their new rights will come into effect.

Cost Of Living Payments: Where To Get Help Now The Scheme Is Over

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This is everything you need to know about the help available now that the cost of living payments have come to an end, reports the Big Issue.

Cost of living payments have come to an end and the government has no plans to continue the scheme. Millions of low-income households received cost of living payments from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) between 2022 and 2024 to help them cover the cost of their bills. The last one hit bank accounts between 6 February and 22 February 2024. This was the third of three payments totalling £900 for 2023 and 2024. They were given to around eight million low-income households on means-tested benefits, and followed two payments totalling up to £650 for 2022 to 2023. For many households the cost of living payments were a lifeline that helped them afford their basic essentials at a time when bills and food prices were skyrocketing.

The cost of things has not come down but it has levelled out over the last year, and the government chose not to continue with the one-off payments. But if you are still worried about the cost of living, know that you are not alone and there is help out there for people if you need it. Here’s everything you need to know now the cost of living payment has ended – including whether you could receive additional benefits, how to avoid cost of living payment scams and where else you can go to get support now that the cost of living payment has ended.

Now that cost of living payments are over, there are other places people can go to get help. People who are struggling financially may be eligible for charitable grants. You can find out what grants might be available to you using Turn2Us’ grant search on the charity’s website. There are a huge range of grants available for different people – including those who are bereaved, disabled, unemployed, redundant, ill, a carer, veteran, young person or old person. Grants are also usually available to people who have no recourse to public funds and cannot claim welfare benefits.

If you are unable to pay your bills, your local council may have a scheme that can help you. Local councils may be able to give you debt advice, help you get hold of furniture and support you through food and fuel poverty. Your council may also have a local welfare assistance scheme, also known as crisis support. You can also find out what support your council offers through End Furniture Poverty’s local welfare assistance finder or by contacting your local authority directly. You may be able to get help with essential costs from your local council through the household support fund. This might be through providing food vouchers in the school holidays, debt and money advice, white goods or short-term cash payments – but every council has their own scheme and eligibility criteria, so you’ll have to contact them directly or check their website to find out what support they offer.

You can find your local food bank through the Trussell Trust’s website or the IFAN’s member’s map. You can also call the Trussell Trust’s free helplines and talk to a trained adviser. It’s 0808 208 2138 if you live in England or Wales, and 0800 915 4604 if you live in Northern Ireland. You should contact your local council if you live in Scotland. You could be entitled to benefits and tax credits if you are working or unemployed, sick or disabled, a parent, a young person, an older person or a veteran. You can use the charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator to find out what benefits you are entitled to claim.  Citizens Advice offers information and services to help people and they can advise you as to what financial support is available from the government to help you.

Just under £19 billion in benefits goes unclaimed each year, according to research by Policy in Practice. That’s often because people don’t know about them, can’t access them and because of the stigma around asking for help.

But it’s so important to claim support you’re entitled to.

Most people on DWP benefits received the last cost of living payment between Tuesday, February 6 and Thursday, February 22. This was the third and final payment for the 2023/2024 period and there are no further payments planned. The previous payment of £300 was paid between 31 October and 19 November 2023.  There is a chance payments could have been paid late – such as if you were made eligible for a qualifying benefit at a later date or you change the bank account your benefit or tax credits are paid into.

If someone contacts you about a future cost of living payment, it could be a scam. You did not need to apply for the payment, and official bodies like the DWP and HMRC never ask for your bank details by SMS or email. You can find advice on spotting scams by visiting the government’s website. Suspicious emails can be forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk, so the National Security Cyber Centre will investigate it, and texts to 7726, which will report the text to your mobile phone provider.

People receiving certain benefits or tax credits were eligible for the cost of living payment. This included: universal credit, income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), income support, pension credit, child tax credit and working tax credit. You also had to have been receiving one of these benefits between November 13 and December 12, 2023, or a payment for an assessment period ending between these dates. If you get both child tax credit and working tax credit you will only have received a cost of living payment for child tax credit. If you get tax credits from HMRC and a benefit from the DWP, you’ll only have received the payment from the DWP. Couples with a joint claim only received single payments between them. You will not have got a payment if you are only getting the new style employment and support allowance, contributory employment and support allowance, or new style jobseeker’s allowance.

If your benefit was reduced to £0 for the qualifying period, you were also not eligible. This is sometimes called ‘nil award’ and refers to when you stop getting benefits for a variety of reasons. This could be because your earnings go up (or your partner’s earnings go up), you start getting another benefit or your savings go up. If you are getting tax credits from HMRC and a low-income benefit from DWP, you will only have got the one cost of living payment. In this case, payment will have shown as ‘HMRC COLS’ in bank and building society accounts, so that people know the money is cost of living support. The £150 disability cost of living payment was paid to disabled people who receive certain benefits between 20 June and 4 July, 2023. There are no further payments planned.

Homelessness Minister Quits Over Rent Hike Claims

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Downing Street has confirmed that Rushanara Ali has resigned as homelessness minister, reports the BBC.

The move comes after she was accused of hypocrisy over the way she handled rent increases on a house she owns in east London. There were calls for her to step down from homelessness charities and opposition politicians. In a letter to the prime minister she said “at all times I have followed all relevant legal requirements” but that remaining in the role would be a “distraction from the ambitious work of this government”.

The row was sparked after Ali ended her tenants’ fixed-term contract in order to sell up, but then re-listed the house for rent at a higher price within six months, which is something she is currently trying to outlaw under the Renters’ Rights Bill. In a story first broken by the I Paper, a former tenant said she was sent an email in November giving four months’ notice the lease would not be renewed. She said shortly after she and the three other tenants had moved out, the house in east London had been re-listed at a rent £700 a month higher.

In a letter to the prime minister, Ali wrote: “It is with a heavy heart that I offer you my resignation as a minister.” Insisting that “at all times I have followed all relevant legal requirements” she added: “I believe I took my responsibilities and duties seriously, and the facts demonstrate this. However, it is clear that continuing in my role will be a distraction from the ambitious work of the government. I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position.”

Responding to her resignation, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer thanked her for her work, which he called “diligent”. The PM praised her work to repeal the Vagrancy Act and added: “I know you will continue to support the government from the backbenches and represent the best interests of your constituents in Bethnal Green and Stepney.”

A source close to Ali said the previous fixed-term contract had been ended because the house was being put up for sale and the tenants had been told they could stay on a rolling basis while the house was on the market, but they had chosen to go. The house was put on the market in November 2024 with an asking price of £914,995 but that was reduced in February by £20,000 and the i Paper said it had only been re-listed as a rental because it had not sold.

Ali’s resignation is particularly awkward because of the subject matter, as Labour went into the election promising to strengthen the rights of private tenants. The very rules they are taking through Parliament at the moment would have stopped what Ali has been accused of. The government’s Renters’ Rights Bill is in its final stages in Parliament, and will ban landlords re-listing a property for rent, if they have ended a tenancy in order to sell, for six months. Landlords must also give four months’ notice to tenants when the legislation is passed, which is not expected to be until at least next year.

London Renters Union spokesperson Siân Smith said Ali’s actions were “indefensible” and she “must step down” due to a “clear conflict of interest” with the Bill in its final stages. The Renters’ Reform Coalition, which represents private renters, said her resignation was “the right decision”. “Her position was completely untenable,” said director Tom Darling. “The government must get on now and end no-fault evictions urgently so that no more tenants are subject to the kind of behaviour Rushanara Ali engaged in.”

Since Ali has quit quickly, the story is unlikely to drag on, but it marks another embarrassing departure for the government. Ali is the sixth MP who has quit Starmer’s government over policy or because of allegations made against them. That is not the sort of number that threatens the government. But it is embarrassing for a government that had a long time in opposition to get its house in order.

This was also not the first time Ali has been criticised. She had to give up part of her ministerial portfolio last year, when she attended a conference linked to the parent company of one of the firms heavily criticised in the recent Grenfell inquiry. Giving up her duties managing building safety and the government’s response to the Grenfell Tower fire, she said she was relinquishing her building safety brief because “perception matters”.

Farm’s Homeless Hostel Is ‘Like My Family’

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A farm that has converted an old dairy house into a homeless hostel has had “above average success” helping people rebuild their lives, reports the BBC.

“Farms are mainly places we grow food,” says farmer Rob Addicott, “but they are also incredibly therapeutic.” The hostel, in Somerset, is home to seven people at a time who are recovering from drug or alcohol problems and have been sleeping rough, usually in the countryside. Dan, one of the residents, describes the project as “like a family to me now, it’s beautiful”.

Set in the Mendip Hills near Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Manor Farm is picture postcard Somerset. A walk along the old dry-stone walls with the wind in your face attracts thousands of townies. But imagine sheltering under that wall at night, like those who sleep rough in the countryside. For rural rough sleepers, a busy hostel in a town or city is often also a scary place.

Rob and Suzanne Addicott decided they wanted to share their farm buildings with those without a bed. And they have done so professionally, with the local council and a charity that provide social work support. Residents are given intensive help to get their lives back on track. They also help out in the kitchen garden, growing veg, fruit and flowers for a box scheme. That’s where I found Dan, picking tomatoes in the polytunnel. “I love it,” he smiled. “I love nature, so it is for me. All the staff are so lovely, and to work with the plants is beautiful.”

The garden is managed by Lily O’Dowd, who not only has to grow a full kitchen garden of produce, but also has to schedule jobs for the residents and keep everyone busy. “No matter how they come to the session,” she says, “they always leave with a smile. It’s great to see them working together, teasing each other. They always leave with joy from the session. And the satisfaction of having grown something, from a seed all the way through to harvesting it.”

The residents work alongside volunteers in the gardens, who also deliver the veg boxes and cook a community meal once a week. When I visited, they had made most of the lunch from the tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers and onions from the gardens. Simply cooking and eating a meal together is part of the therapy, as support worker Kate Dixon explains. She says: “For a lot of people coming out of homelessness and into recovery, they’ve lived in a very selfish way. Part of the healing is to learn to live with other people, and know there are people there for them too.”

The house and gardens are now run as a stand alone Community Interest Company, Roots Connections. For Farmer Rob, who still farms the fields around the project, the Dairy House has been a real success. He says: “People have gone on to earn their own house, or sustain a tenancy, and find meaningful work. A lot of people end up volunteering back in this sector, working with nature, because they want to give back to what they’ve come from.”

And that is exactly what Dan plans to do, once he has found his feet and a new home. “I’d like to volunteer in a project like this, or maybe with horses and animals. I love nature, and it’s what I know, so it suits me fine,” he smiles.

Asylum Hotel Protests Are Spreading

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Protests outside asylum hotels have once again kicked off around the UK. The Big Issue asks – but who’s really behind them?

Far-right activists are “parachuting” into communities to stoke tensions, experts and campaigners alike have warned – just like they did last summer. “This is not just concerned local mums,” said Samira Ali, national officer with Stand Up To Racism. “This is organised right-wing activism.” Epping is the centre of the current unrest. Multiple demonstrations have been held outside The Bell Hotel in the Essex town after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl.

Initial protests were peaceful, with locals gathering outside the hotel where the man was housed. But things quickly escalated, anti-racism organisation Hope Not Hate reports, with the demonstration co-opted by “masked men intent on violence”. Two Bell Hotel security guards were attacked at a bus stop and hospitalised for their wounds; a total of 14 people have been charged for violence after attacking police vehicles. The scenes – unsettlingly reminiscent of last summer’s early riots – follow a pattern, Ali told Big Issue. A local incident sparks local concern, then the far-right swoop in to advance their own agenda. The alleged assault was a “heinous” incident, she adds, “but that’s not what these protests are about.”

The Epping unrest culminated on Sunday (27 July), when 400 anti-migration demonstrators were met by some 2,000 counter-protesters. Among the right-wing signs – boasting slogans like “deport foreign criminals” – were pleas for local support: “Put local people first.” “Most of the people outside that hotel in Epping weren’t far right or far left,” said Reform leader Nigel Farage, they “were just genuinely concerned families”. New evidence refutes this claim. While protests began locally, they were rapidly co-opted by far-right agitators. The Epping Says No Facebook group – the forum on which demonstrations have been organised – is administered by three members of the political party Homeland. This extremist right-wing organisation is a splinter of the neo-Nazi group Patriotic Alternative; Hope not Hate describe it as the largest fascist group in the UK.

“There are of course some local people there [at the Epping protest] yes,” said Aurelien Mondon, a professor of politics at the University of Bath and the co-convenor of the Reactionary Politics Research Network. “But what is clear is that far-right organisations have been exploiting these protests and quite often it is their presence that escalates things, and ends up making them turn into violence.” Epping is not an isolated incident. On Monday (28 July), demonstrations flared in Diss, Norfolk outside a similar hotel. And two weeks ago, loyalists in Northern Ireland burned effigies of refugees sitting on a boat. Such protests are organised on far-right social media networks, where existing rhetoric inflames existing tensions. Notorious right-wing and anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson (who has allegedly fled the country after punching a man in London this week) posted excessively about Epping: he claimed that he would attend the protest before pulling out at the last minute.

Members of Blood & Honour, Britain First, For Britain, the Homeland Party and White Vanguard – all avowedly racist organisations – were present at the Bell Hotel, according to Hope Not Hate. Several of these groups have been banned or flagged by authorities across Europe for promoting violent extremism. “It starts as a local concern and then the mask slips – these people are from a fascist group,” Ali says. The counter-protests are also largely from out of town, with most coming in from locations across London.

The protests have attracted a great deal of political concern. Prime minister Keir Starmer reportedly told ministers that Britain’s “social fabric” must be repaired, and integration must be improved in areas with high immigrant populations. Deputy PM Angela Rayner said that immigration was having a “profound impact on society” and generating “real concerns”.

There seems to be a political consensus that these protests manifest the legitimate concerns of local people. But Mondon fears a “legitimisation” of the far-right narrative. “The responsibility here is not so much in the popularity of the far right, although we shouldn’t deny that – there is a significant minority of people who are espousing these views,” he said. “I think the really responsibility here is in the role of mainstream actors who have emboldened these politics by legitimising them. There are not more far-right than there were before, but they are more emboldened.”

Keir Starmer’s pursuit of the Reform vote – embodied in the ‘island of strangers’ – is a key element of this. “This government has been legitimising the idea that people arriving by boat are a threat.” The summer may yet prove to be another “summer of discontent”, Mondon added: “It’s kind of a powder-keg that could explode very quickly.” But that’s down to a tiny minority of people who should not be pandered to, he said. “As soon as the counter protestors organised, the counter protest dwarfed the protest. We need to make clear it is a tiny minority people. Most people are either uninterested or against these kinds of of demonstrations, this kind of politics, but the far right is trying to divide us. The government shouldn’t focus on scapegoating and should instead look to improve the meaningful conditions of people’s lives. People are right to be angry at a system that doesn’t serve them, but immigrants shouldn’t be the target of that anger.”

Research out this week shows that the decline of public venues – such as pubs, piers and youth clubs – created a social vacuum that allowed “misinformation and hate” to thrive. “Rebuilding local infrastructure isn’t just about nostalgia – it’s a vital bulwark against division and the dangerous pull of the far right,” said Dr Sacha Hilhorst from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). Despite the rise in far-right mobilisation, campaigners say the tide can be turned. “It can feel like the far right is on the march,” said Samira Ali. “But we have to remember that there is an anti-racist majority in Britain. And when we mobilise, we can push back. We can build a moment of hope and show our strength and solidarity.”

Already, counter-protesters have outnumbered far-right demonstrators in key towns like Epping. With more than 50 far-right events are planned nationwide in the coming weeks – including a so-called “Abolish Asylum Day” on 8 August – mobilisation is urgent. “Our anti-racism movement can stop this,” Ali said. “We want people to get organised, to get informed, and to show up – because silence only helps the far right.”