Some of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire have been sleeping in their cars and in parks, the MP for Kensington, Emma Dent Coad, has claimed. She said there is “total chaos” in the borough following the fire that left at least 79 people dead and dozens more injured.

Speaking at a Justice for Grenfell march on Monday night, Ms. Coad told Sky News: “People have been sleeping in cars and in parks because they don’t know where to go and they aren’t being looked after. Secondly, they need to be re-housed permanently and thirdly they need a long-term care package – people who’ll always be there for them.”

The government has so far handed out a total of £202,000 to 180 families who were directly affected by the Grenfell Tower fire. It is part of the newly set up Grenfell Response Team that is managing the official response and support operation following the tragedy. The payments are being split between £500 cash and £5,000, which will go directly into bank accounts.

So far, 126 hotel places have been found for residents while 78 families have been assessed and are due to be placed in properties that are local or in the neighbouring borough. The Grenfell Response Team said in a statement: “Work is taking place to assess the housing needs of all Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk families to identify suitable accommodation in Kensington and Chelsea and neighbouring boroughs.” They added: “We have endeavoured to keep accommodation as local as possible, and we completely accept residents’ wishes to remain close to the community.”

But David Lammy, MP, has received an email from a local councillor who claims that victims, who don’t want to be re-housed in other high rises or far out of London, face being deemed intentionally homeless. It suggests survivors of the blaze are being offered places as far away as Preston and those who refuse are threatened with being put at the bottom of the housing list because “they are making themselves voluntarily homeless”.

The email also said part of the reason it was so hard to confirm the numbers who had died was residents had been subletting their flats. The councillor called this “a direct function of housing crisis. This is why the death toll is unknown. Nobody even knows their names.”

Social housing lawyer Jayesh Kunwardia said the Royal Borough of Kensington And Chelsea (RBKC) should revoke its housing policy for the Grenfell Tower survivors and commit to finding each of them suitable accommodation. He said the council’s existing policy left him concerned that even people who refused accommodation for personal reasons, such as they were staying with family instead, could be designated “intentionally homeless”.

Kunwardia, a partner at London law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, said: “I’ve already spoken to a number of former Grenfell Tower residents who have refused the offer of temporary accommodation outside of the borough and have opted to stay with family or friends instead. I’m worried that former Grenfell Tower residents, who have very good reasons for refusing an offer of accommodation, because of potential difficulties with work, schooling, medical appointments or their social network, may be penalised as a result. It seems to me that there is a lack of transparency by RBKC on the legal rights available to the victims of this tragic disaster.”

He added: “No resident should be at risk of losing their right to be housed if they refuse accommodation that is unsuitable.”

The number of families being declared homeless has rocketed by more a third since the Conservatives took power in 2010, analysis of new official statistics has revealed.

Writing in The Independent, Ben Kentish reports that between April 2016 and March 2017, 59,100 families were declared homeless by local authorities in England – a rise of 34% on the same period in 2010-11. The statistics paint a bleak picture of the UK housing crisis and the impact a lack of decent, affordable homes is having on thousands of families.

The number of families being housed in insecure temporary accommodation has jumped by 60%. In particular, bed and breakfast-type hotels are increasingly being used to house families for long periods of time as local councils struggle to find them proper homes to live in. There are now 77,240 families in England currently living in temporary accommodation – up from 48,240 just six years ago. Of these, almost fourth-fifths (78%) are families with children, meaning there are currently 120,500 children living in insecure, temporary homes.

Of those being housed temporarily, 6,590 households are living in B&Bs, including 3,010 families with children. Almost half have been living in this type of accommodation, which often sees families crammed into one room and forced to share limited bathroom and cooking facilities with strangers, for more than six weeks. This is illegal under the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2003, which banned local authorities from housing families with children in B&Bs for more than a six-week period.

The new figures will put more pressure on government ministers after the Grenfell Tower disaster prompted widespread criticism of the Conservatives’ approach to affordable housing. Critics have accused the Government and Tory councils of causing a huge loss of genuinely affordable homes and deprioritising those living in social housing, while four former housing ministers are said to have failed to act on a report raising concerns about the safety of tower blocks.

Conservative housing policy since 2010 has prioritised the privatisation of social housing, both by extending the Right to Buy scheme and by forcing councils to sell off their most valuable council homes to private individuals and companies.  At the same time, ministers have mandated that social homes available at heavily discounted rents should be replaced by a new type of affordable housing that has more expensive rents much closer to market rates.

The newly released data shows a huge rise in the number of people being made homeless as a result of losing their social home. In the past 12 months, 4,010 families were declared homeless after losing a home rented in the social sector – a 56% increase in six years. The number of council homes in the UK has fallen by 165,000 since 2010 alone, with almost a third having been sold to private owners under the Right to Buy scheme.

Anne Baxendale, director of communications, policy and campaigns at housing charity Shelter, told The Independent: “The Grenfell Tower tragedy has left people without a home and living in a dire situation, it has also thrust the issue of homelessness into the spotlight.”

“While Shelter is calling for those affected to be placed in good quality temporary accommodation nearby, and hope officials make good on their promise to do so, we know many local authorities simply don’t have enough affordable accommodation for those on low incomes. It’s a similar story across all London boroughs and the country more widely, so it’s no surprise that today’s homelessness stats reveal the problem is getting worse nationally, with more households becoming homeless every year.”

Homeless Link’s Chief Executive, Rick Henderson, commented: “The housing market is broken, with a chronic shortage of low cost housing and people struggling to afford a new private rented tenancy when their current one ends. We know that something has to change; it is not right that thousands of families should have to live in poor quality temporary accommodation, often with shared facilities, and that many of these have been housed away from their local area and established support network.”

“Our ask remains the same, and is more critical than ever. It is vital that resources are put behind the Homelessness Reduction Act so that it works as it should, to prevent people from becoming homeless and effectively assist those that do. More than that, establishing a cross-government strategy to end homelessness should be a priority – alongside urgent action to increase the availability of truly affordable housing –  if we are to ensure that some of the most vulnerable people in our society have the support they need to move on from homelessness for good.”

The statistics revealing soaring homelessness were released on the day the High Court ruled that the Conservatives’ flagship benefit cap policy is unlawful because it discriminates against single parents with young children. The same court has previously ruled that the policy also illegally discriminates against disabled people and their carers.

Our SSHG partners at New Start have announced they are arranging a special day to celebrate the refugee families they support as part of Refugee Week.

The event will take place on Friday July 7^th, 12pm to 4pm, at New Start’s office, The Job Bank, 4 Tunnel Road, Liverpool, L7 6QD.

Refugee Week takes place in June each year. It is regularly used as a platform for holding hundreds of arts, cultural and educational events.

Refugee Week events are used to to celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK and encourage a better understanding between communities.

The New Roots project was set up in 2013, as a homelessness prevention and resettlement project for refugees and refugee families ready to access mainstream services once their assistance from the UK Borders Agency has lapsed. The project is staffed by dedicated workers with the expertise needed to deal with multi-cultural refugee matters and help promote human rights at all levels.

New Start boss, Neil Baynes, said: “The transition from asylum seeker to refugee can be very challenging and problematic, causing a high risk of homelessness for this group. Therefore, we developed a responsive service that aims to support refugees towards independence and integration into UK society. The project recognises refugees as valued members of the community and respects the cultural identity of all those who access the service showing empathy towards each unique experience of migration.”

“We offer good quality housing and support services within Liverpool’s most culturally beneficial areas of the city, and the project works with refugees to identify their immediate support requirements, enabling those needs to be addressed initially, said Neil. “Service users who access this scheme arrive with the need to feel safe and secure as the majority have fled their home country due to violence and persecution. Therefore, stability of accommodation and a supportive environment are crucial at this stage. Once this component is in place, intensive work around integration and education on UK life can commence.”

For more details of the New Start New Roots day, phone 0151 708 7103 or go to the website www.newstarthomes.org.uk

Far-right thugs have been accused of abusing Sikh volunteers as they tried to feed the homeless in Manchester.

The Sikh Sewa Organisation (SSO) provide meals for the homeless every Sunday in the same spot but were forced to move on to Stevenson Square after the fascists descended on the area in a protest against Sharia law. But, on Sunday the 11^th of June, members of the SSO said they had to flee from Piccadilly Gardens for their own safety after “EDL members” became “abusive” towards them.

The SSO wrote on its Facebook page: “Today after a very long time I have got angry and am disgusted by human behaviour. As per every Sunday our team went to feed the homeless in Manchester. Sadly our usual spot in Piccadilly Gardens was over run by the EDL mindless thugs and we had to scarper for our own safety, as they were becoming abusive to the volunteers. It became really scary for us.”

“Our usual homeless crowd came to us saying they were starving so the volunteers decided to move to Stevenson Square. They continued there tirelessly serving food despite their own safety.”

Greater Manchester police advised residents to avoid the area after the protest turned “nasty”, with one man brandishing a pig’s head to taunt Muslims. Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham said the “EDL-types” needed to take a “long hard look at themselves.”

Eight people were arrested when demonstrators with UK Against Hate, headed by former EDL (English Defence League) leader Tommy Robinson, clashed with counter-protesters.

But Mr Robinson, a well-known fascist, refuted the claims the EDL was in attendance as “lies”. He wrote on Facebook: “Looks like the police have joined the newspapers in their #fakenews propaganda.”

“This was not an EDL demo it was UK Against Hate demonstration against terrorism and hate being inflicted on our communities! The actions of the police yesterday and the disgraceful fake news reporting by the media since is a depressing example of the mess our once great country is in.”

The English Defence League is a far-right protest movement that opposes what it considers to be the spread of Islam in The UK.

With the Tories still reeling from the upset in last week’s election, and a number of things still to become clear in the coming days, Homeless Link has compiled a summary of what we know so far.

No party has won the number of seats necessary to gain an overall majority (326 of 650 seats in Westminster). This means we have what is known as a ‘hung Parliament’. In order to govern, parties must command the confidence of the House of Commons – if a party does not have majority control of the House of Commons, they have a few options. They can either enter into a formal coalition with other parties to ensure they have a majority of seats, as seen with the Coalition Government 2010-15, or operate as a minority Government with other parties offering support in key votes and on other issues on a vote-by-vote basis.

The Conservatives are the party with the largest number of seats and have announced they will be working with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to try and secure a majority. Together the parties have 328 seats. We do not yet know the full nature of the arrangement, but speculation suggests the DUP will support the Conservatives by voting for the Queen’s Speech, the first test of the feasibility of a new Government, which is scheduled for 19th June. Further support may then be offered on an issue-by-issue basis.

It is important to note that many of the issues, such as housing, welfare, health and criminal justice, are devolved in Northern Ireland. This means there is little in the DUP’s Westminster election manifesto on these issues, and it is unclear how their ten MPs might use any influence in Westminster to shape legislation in these policy areas that will not affect Northern Ireland.

With regard to the Tory election promises, this is what Homeless Link will be monitoring in the coming weeks and months:

• The manifesto made several commitments on homelessness. These were a) implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act, b) committing to halve rough sleeping over the course of this parliament and eliminating it by 2027, c) establishing a new Homelessness Reduction Taskforce, focused on prevention and affordable housing and d) piloting Housing First projects. Homeless Link will work to ensure the experience and expertise of their members influences the implementation of these commitments on homelessness.
• In terms of housing, the Conservatives have committed to deliver a million homes by the end of 2020 and half a million more by the end of 2022. They have also promised to give greater flexibility to housing associations to increase their housing stock.
• The manifesto also contained proposals to improve protections for those who rent, including looking at increasing security for tenants and encouraging landlords to offer longer tenancies as standard. We know that the ending of an assured shorthold tenancy is the leading cause of homelessness and welcome initiatives to make the private rented sector more secure and accessible.

For more information, go to:

http://www.homeless.org.uk/connect/blogs/2017/jun/09/what-election-result-means-for-our-sector