DWP’s ‘Unhealthy’ AI Obsession Is Trapping People In Poverty

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Amnesty warns DWP’s use of AI and automation in welfare is harming disabled people and digitally excluded claimants, reports the Big Issue.

Disabled people, the homeless, low-income families and those with limited digital access are being “trapped in bureaucratic limbo” by the UK government’s “unhealthy obsession” with artificial intelligence (AI), a new report has warned. Amnesty International’s report, Too Much Technology, Not Enough Empathy, accuses the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of rolling out flawed and experimental technology systems that are harming some of the country’s most vulnerable people.

The report found that digital-only systems for applying for benefits, including personal independence payment (PIP) and universal credit, are inaccessible for many, particularly those with disabilities, long-term health conditions or digital illiteracy. One claimant, interviewed as part of the report, told Amnesty: “Have some form of compassion, you know, make the forms and things easier. I mean, I’m quite illiterate. I mean, a lot of women are, men of my age, can’t use them… So they’re stuffed. They send me letters on my phone. I can’t open them. So, I ring up. I can’t open it. I haven’t got an iPad. I can’t afford an iPad.”

Rather than easing access to much-needed support, Amnesty said that DWP’s growing use of automation and AI is contributing to distress and discrimination amongst claimants. The systems in question include automated eligibility checks, risk profiling algorithms that flag claimants for fraud investigations, and data-matching tools that verify personal details using other government databases. In terms of automated data checks, such as checking income with HMRC or immigration status with the Home Office, Amnesty noted there is often “very little, if any, human oversight” making it difficult for claimants to challenge errors or understand how decisions are made.

Imogen Richmond-Bishop, Amnesty’s researcher on technology and economic, social and cultural rights, said the DWP’s approach has “reduced people to data points where the success of a claim often depends more on fitting into rigid digital categories than actual eligibility”. She added that “technology in this instance has oversimplified people’s complex realities by creating narrow and opaque processing that demeans people’s needs, especially when they are unable to get the support from a human case worker that they need”.

The report describes a system that is inaccessible by design, with digital-only platforms and long wait times on phone helplines, leaving many unable to get the support they are entitled to. More than half (52%) of claimants surveyed reported difficulty accessing social security support, and welfare advisors said the system is increasingly hard to navigate, with 64% saying it was difficult or very difficult to get information about universal credit. Amnesty also warns that many claimants face digital exclusion. A person’s ability to access online systems can change depending on their income, health, language skills, housing or education. For many, these barriers are overlapping and long-term.

Richmond-Bishop said this reality is being ignored in favour of a data-led approach. “While people struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table due to inadequate social security, the DWP is still spending millions of pounds on costly, experimental systems designed to profile and surveil claimants.” the Amnesty researcher said. Amnesty also raises concerns about how much sensitive information claimants are forced to hand over. This includes data about their health, disability, housing, marital status and bank accounts. The human rights group describes this as “alarmingly invasive and deeply opaque”. “This excessive data harvesting calls into question the proportionality, legality and fairness of how information is collected, processed and potentially exploited,” said Richmond-Bishop.

The report warns of “relentless dehumanisation” and a growing atmosphere of surveillance, rather than support. Many claimants are being asked to navigate complex systems without sufficient assistance, and even small mistakes, such as a missed update or unclear message, can lead to missed payments or sanctions. Amnesty is calling for a full, independent review of the digital systems used by the DWP, and for any systems that violate human rights to be scrapped. It also wants the UK government to commit to ensuring all AI systems are transparent, explainable and never mandatory.

Crucially, the group is demanding that non-digital options for benefit applications and case management must be fully available, accessible and equal in quality, so that no one is left behind due to poverty, disability or digital illiteracy. “The DWP’s mission to reduce costs has become an unhealthy obsession,” said Richmond-Bishop. “Urgent questions remain: is the tech rollout truly cost-effective, or simply cutting corners at the expense of vulnerable people?”

The DWP has been contacted for comment.

Ten Times More Women Sleeping Rough Than Official Figures Show

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There are more than ten times as many women sleeping rough than are identified through official government ‘snapshot’ counts, reports Drink and Drug News.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government snapshots fail to classify women sleeping in places like public transport or A&E departments as rough sleeping, says How do we sleep at night? – a joint project by Change Grow Live with Crisis, Solace and the Single Homeless Project. ‘The government is not looking in the right places,’ says the report, with ‘faulty’ figures the result of gender-biased collection methods.

The research, which was conducted across almost 90 council areas, found that nearly 78 per cent of women were not getting support from a housing officer or local authority housing team, with more than 40 per cent not in touch with a homelessness service. The report is based on surveys with women who’d identified themselves to outreach teams or other services as having slept rough in the last three months, as well as information shared at cross-sector meetings. More than 1,000 women were identified as having slept rough in the previous three months, with more than 70 per cent reporting sleeping on the street. Over half reported sleeping in a place that would not be included in the traditional snapshot counts, with a quarter saying they’d stayed with a stranger or new acquaintance, clearly placing them ‘at risk of harm’. A third of women reported feeling physically unsafe, with some providing ‘harrowing reports of gender-based violence, abuse and exploitation’.

Women’s homelessness is compounded by ‘systemic neglect’, the document says, with policies, services, funding and data collection methods all failing to ‘adequately recognise and respond to women’s experiences – because they are designed for men’. Rough sleeping is ‘rarely a standalone experience’ for women, it says, with many oscillating between rough sleeping and other forms of homelessness on a regular basis, making siloed approaches to the problem ‘particularly ineffective’. Joined up strategies are vital, it stresses, including in the forthcoming violence against women and girls strategy – so that women ‘can get housing and support wherever they turn’.

‘Accommodation services aren’t designed for women’s needs,’ the report continues, and calls on the government to ensure that services are ‘accessible, safe, and equitable for women’, backed up by funding. The government also needs an ‘informed definition of rough sleeping that reflects women’s hidden, transient and intermittent experiences’, as well as to invest in early intervention and provide local authorities with the resources and guidance to collect accurate data on women sleeping rough.

‘Our findings bring home how many women are victimised whilst sleeping rough and that homelessness services are not sufficiently resourced to respond effectively to their needs,’ said Sam Wright, who wrote the report for Change Grow Live. ‘It’s concerning that the women responding to the census were more likely to have accessed drug and alcohol services than other health services, given that we know how many have serious health problems. So much needs to be done to improve our support for women. I think this year we have a real opportunity to bring about genuine change.’

The government recently confirmed that it would decriminalise rough sleeping by repealing the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act by next spring. A cross-government homelessness strategy is expected later this year.

How To Help Rough Sleepers In Hot Weather

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People sleeping on the streets are at high-risk during periods of hot weather, and there can be severe impacts on their health and wellbeing, reports Shelter.

Rough sleepers can find it difficult to cool down. They might sleep on hot tarmac or in direct sun, with little access to water or shelter. Without safe storage for belongings, they might need to wear all their clothes: winter coats, many layers, heavy shoes. People sleeping on the streets might have health conditions or addictions. Alcohol and some drugs are dehydrating. These vulnerabilities can mean that they are less able to move out of direct sunlight and seek help. The health effects of heat can be severe and life threatening. Heat exhaustion happens when a person overheats. Symptoms include heavy sweating, dizziness, and feeling faint.

If a person doesn’t cool down and hydrate they can develop heatstroke. Heatstroke is a life threatening condition and anyone showing symptoms needs emergency medical help. Signs of heatstroke include seizures, confusion, and loss of consciousness. When a rough sleeper collapses from heat exhaustion or heatstroke they might be mistaken for being asleep or drunk. Outreach staff and others should understand the symptoms of heat-related illnesses and know to take quick action.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides a heat-health alert service from 1 June to 15 September, in partnership with the Met Office. It is aimed at health and social care professionals and anyone with a role in reducing the harm extended periods of hot weather can have on health. This includes the health effects on rough sleepers. The system is impact-based and provides information over and above the fact that hot weather is likely to occur. For example, how an NHS strike during a predicted heatwave could worsen health impacts.

The Met Office monitors forecasts and assesses potential impacts of high temperatures. Where an alert is needed, the Met Office releases one at a level based on suspected impacts. The alert levels are:

  • yellow – impacts are expected for the most vulnerable, including rough sleepers
  • amber – impacts are expected across the population
  • red – a significant risk to life even for healthy people

The heat-health alert system dashboard is available online. It’s important that professionals are up to date with changes to the alert level so they can respond quickly.

Government guidance includes information about how to prepare for hot weather and take action to support rough sleepers. The guidance is for professionals responsible for people sleeping rough, including local authorities, and organisations providing street-based support. Local authorities and other organisations should consider developing or improving their local heat severe weather plans and risk assessment strategies. They could identify cool spaces and plan to make emergency accommodation suitable during hot weather. Authorities could build relationships and trust with people sleeping rough.

Permanent facilities might be more likely to be used compared with emergency pop-up facilities. For example, rough sleepers might be more likely to use a familiar day centre with air conditioning and extra fans. A cool space might include access to water and food. When there are heat alerts, local authorities and organisations could work together to provide rough sleepers with:

  • food and cool water
  • shade, appropriate clothes and sunscreen
  • effective information and resources
  • access to cool spaces, including outdoor areas

Action could be taken in a staged process as the alert levels rise. This contrasts with a cold weather response, where it is common for action to be taken only when the temperature falls below freezing. A staged approach might include:

  • extra outreach to check on rough sleepers during a yellow heat-health alert
  • providing cool spaces and accommodation during an amber heat-health alert

Every local authority should have a severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP) to help people sleeping on the streets. Severe weather includes heatwaves. Local authorities are encouraged to follow the Met Office’s UK weather warnings and heat-health alerts. SWEP support might include temporary accommodation in a hostel or night shelter. People should not have to meet immigration, residence or priority need conditions to access support. People who are homeless can apply for help from any local authority.

A local authority has a duty to provide interim accommodation if it has reason to believe the person might be homeless, eligible for assistance, and in priority need. A person can have a priority need if they are vulnerable, for example because of a physical or mental health condition. A person’s circumstances can be relevant. For example, a rough sleeper might be more vulnerable during a heatwave.

In 2023, the Museum of Homelessness published a report into Severe Weather Emergency responses by local authorities. The investigation found that, between 2020 to 2022, of 91 councils:

  • only 53% put in measures to respond to extreme heat
  • more than 25% did not activate SWEP at all or could not provide details on what steps they had taken during extreme weather
  • none had measures in place for other weather events such as extreme rain or flash flooding.

Tackling Homelessness ‘Complex And Unpredictable’

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Since the Homewards programme was launched in 2023, more than 100 initiatives have been launched across six locations around the UK, but the Prince of Wales admits the project faces a “mammoth challenge”, reports Sky News.

Prince William has acknowledged the “complex and unpredictable” challenge that still lies ahead for those helping him tackle homelessness, two years since he launched his ambitious Homewards project. In a letter to the local coalition groups that were formed in six locations across the UK, the Prince of Wales thanked them for joining his mission to “demonstrate that it is possible to make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated”. Signing off with the message “Keep going!” William explains how he believes the initiative has already started to “shift the dial” on the “mammoth challenge”. “There are now people who are no longer experiencing homelessness thanks to your tremendous efforts,” he wrote.

Since the five-year programme was launched in 2023, more than 100 initiatives have started across six locations around the UK, and some 300 homes – a mixture of empty accommodation, private rentals and new builds – are forecast to be delivered through Homewards’ Innovative Housing Projects. In February, William unveiled a new partnership with high street bank Lloyds Banking Group, which has made £50m available to organisations tackling homelessness. Nearly £3m has also been secured for Homewards locations from partners and coalition members.

In his letter marking this anniversary, he wrote: “After a year of convening, our second year has seen Homewards shift into delivery mode.” But acknowledging the difficult task ahead, he added: “Creating long-term change is complex and unpredictable, but I am confident we can lead and inspire understanding, empathy and optimism that homelessness can be ended.” The six locations where the programme is working are Newport in South Wales, Lambeth in south London, Northern Ireland, Aberdeen, Sheffield and the three neighbouring Dorset towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch.

Each ‘local coalition group’ has been working to identify solutions to specific groups at risk of homelessness in their area, such as single people and under-25s in Aberdeen, lone parents in temporary accommodation in Lambeth and families and women facing multiple disadvantages in Newport.

Liz Laurence, Homewards’ programme director, said: “We’re proud to say, as we head into our third year, that Homewards is the broadest collective effort working to prevent homelessness across the UK.”

She added: “We set out with a mission to demonstrate that together it’s possible to end homelessness, and I think we are really confident about where we are. We are starting really to see a difference on the ground.” The campaign is a major long-term focus for William, who – as a child – visited shelters with his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, and was left with a deep and lasting impression that has inspired his work.

Polly Neate, former chief executive of Shelter and now an independent social policy commentator, said: “In our wider culture, as a country, we see homelessness as something that is inevitable, that we don’t really understand, that we feel powerless about doing anything about. What Prince William and Homewards are doing, if you want to put it in a nutshell, is tackling that culture straight on and saying ‘This is not inevitable. This is preventable’.”

‘Outraged’ Residents Told To Move Out In 22 Days

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Heartbroken residents on a Kirkby housing estate have been told they must vacate their homes after essential repairs were not been carried out, reports the Liverpool Echo.

The news is the latest update in an ongoing catastrophe that has plunged hundreds of people’s lives into crisis. The future viability of Willow Rise and Beech Rise tower blocks looks increasingly ominous after essential repairs were left undone, leading to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) declaring the buildings ‘unsafe’. The lives of all 160 households have been turned upside down despite ongoing efforts to resolve the problems.

The situation has become progressively worse with many residents feeling scared about the level of danger they might be in and their future housing security. Arunee Leerasiri is one of hundreds of people affected. As the spectre of homelessness hangs over her, Arunee said she is ‘broken’ and overwhelmed by the crisis. Due to ongoing safety concerns, Arunee moved into temporary accommodation earlier this month as she awaited an update on the Willow Rise building. However, Knowsley Council have now confirmed residents have until July 21 to find a new place to live.

Arunee said she will have to move back into the block so she can save money for a move. She added: “I have no other choice really. I feel unsafe being here, but I don’t know what to do and I don’t know what the future holds. I am not happy at the idea of climbing the dirty stairs up to my flat and seeing the damp and the smell. My flat is just a shell with floorboards. The place is now officially a rat house. I saw a rat on Sunday when I went to collect my post. What’s happening is an absolute outrage. This is a real life drama. I’m in massive limbo and I’ve spent nearly £2,000 over the past weeks in an Airbnb and I just can’t afford all of the growing bills. She added: “Someone should have said that the building won’t be shut down until mid-July, not just say ‘weeks’. I could have saved a lot of money delaying the move and not knowing a definite date has really messed with my head.”

The tower blocks are located on Roughwood Drive in Kirkby and have hundreds of residents – both rented tenants and leaseholders. The buildings are owned by TR Marketing Ltd, the head lessor of both blocks is Rockwell (FC100) Limited and the leaseholder group is Parklands. At the start of May, Dempster Management Services informed all residents and leaseholders it had decided to terminate its contract with Beech Rise and Willow Rise, effective immediately. It means residents have been living without a management company. The Liverpool Echo first reported on problems at these tower blocks last year when residents came forward to complain about the conditions.

As the crisis unfolded, Knowsley Council wrote to residents and owners of properties in Beech Rise and Willow Rise on May 20, to inform them it was taking over a ‘waking watch’ of the building for a limited period. These buildings are privately owned – they are not council-owned buildings, but the local authority stepped in to offer support due to the scale of problems on the estate. The buildings are currently subject to an enforcement notice by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) due to safety concerns. As part of this ongoing support, the local authority volunteered to fund the waking watch service, temporarily – that service is costing the council more than £3,000 per day. MFRS confirmed that if the waking watch ends without the repairs being carried out, it will have no option but to declare the buildings unsafe and issue a prohibition notice.

During the last two months, residents have been anxiously awaiting updates on what will happen to the buildings and whether an alternative solution can be found – something which would prevent the proposed evictions. On Thursday June 26, Knowsley Council sent out a letter updating residents on developments: “The Council has had a further series of meetings this week with parties involved in the ownership and management of both buildings. One such party had previously indicated that they may step in to carry out some of the essential repairs that are urgently needed. However, they have now told us they are not yet able to confirm what works, if any, they will undertake. They do intend to continue investigating possibilities, but this will take some time. They have also advised that the extent of any works needed (if they are feasible) would, in any case, mean the building would need to be vacated for a prolonged period. They have also stated that the cost of these works would have to be funded via the service charges. For that reason, they do not intend to continue the waking watch once the current watch – put in place temporarily by the council – ends.”

A Knowsley Council statement on its website added: “Waking watch will be extended until Monday, 21 July 2025 at 12 midday. After that, Merseyside Fire and Rescue (MFRS) will issue a prohibition order against the building, meaning all residents must leave on or before this day.”

Christopher Penfold-Ivany, 53, lives on floor 13 of Willow Rise and is currently undergoing treatment for a serious health issue. Because of the broken down lifts, he has been forced to walk up and down 26 flights of stairs whenever he has to go out for a medical appointment. On top all this, Christopher is living with the stress of being a resident at Willow Rise. Responding to the letter from Knowsley Council, Mr Penfold-Ivany said: “There’s very few, few of us left now in the building because of, I’d say about 50% of us left. I’m shocked, but not surprised. Not anymore.

He added: “This place has been neglected and it just doesn’t feel safe anymore. If there’s a will or intention to get all the repairs done, then I haven’t seen any evidence of it. More importantly, we’ve all been left in limbo. All we know for definite is we can’t live here anymore, but where will we live? We’ve basically got 22 days to get the hell out of dodge. Like so many other people here, I can’t tell you for definite where I’ll be living next month.”

Charities Come Together To Recycle Festival Tents

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Two charities have once again joined forces to salvage summer festival tents for homeless people while also helping the environment, reports the BBC.

Homelessness charity Emmaus Hertfordshire, based in St Albans, has linked up with humanitarian charity Herts for Refugees (HFR) to repurpose discarded tents and sleeping bags. They took part in the annual clear-up operation following the Isle of Wight festival.

Emmaus Hertfordshire’s business development manager, Gemma Beckett, said that last year its team helped to collect 260 abandoned tents and 150 sleeping bags. Ms Beckett said the tents and sleeping bags were repurposed to “provide essential shelter and warmth to displaced people”. This marks the fourth year the Emmaus community has supported Herts for Refugees in its ongoing festival salvage work. It helped them at the Boomtown festival in Hampshire in 2022 and the Isle of Wight Festival in 2023 and 2024.

Angus Clark, chief executive officer of HFR, said: “People in need are people in need, no matter if they are at home or overseas, and we love working with Emmaus Hertfordshire.” HFR was established in 2015 when the image of three-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi was seen around the world, after his body washed up on a Turkish beach. It started as a small collection in a flat in Watford but grew into an operation which filled seven storage units and led to a series of donation and volunteering convoys to Calais.

Mr Clark said that as well as donating to France, they supported refugees and delivered aid to Greece, Lebanon, Syria or for wherever need arose. The charity carries out the salvage work at a number of summer festivals, with Reading Festival also on its schedule in August.

Festivals have come under criticism for the sheer amount of waste generated, with 71 tonnes of tents left behind at Reading in 2024. Although Festival Republic, which runs Reading and Leeds festivals, said the 2024 events saw a reduction in waste compared with the previous year.

Mr Clarke has said it is more sustainable for festival-goers if they take their equipment home. “The bigger picture environmentally has to be considered… we can only take such a small amount compared to what’s left behind,” he said.

‘Dire Realities’ Of London’s Temporary Accommodation Crisis Exposed

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Some children are spending their whole childhoods in temporary accommodation, which can also be home to 97-year-old pensioners, reports the Standard.

Homeless children are in some cases spending their entire childhoods in temporary accommodation (TA) across London, and are even living alongside pensioners well into their 90s, according to a new report. Research by the community organising charity Citizens UK has also found that people living in TA often “cannot access basic amenities – a toilet, washing machine, somewhere to cook a nutritious meal – because of the barriers imposed on them”.

More than 70,000 homeless households in London are currently living in TA provided by their local council, Government data shows – with the largest numbers found in Newham (6,667 households), Lambeth (4,657) and Southwark (3,828). Often, this will take the form of a hostel or budget hotel room with limited facilities. Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the Capital’s councils show that one family with children has been living in TA in Croydon since 1998. The same is true of another family with children in Brent since 2000. Meanwhile, some single-person households have been staying in TA even longer, including one person in Haringey who has been officially homeless since at least 1983 – a period of more than 40 years.

“The median household in TA is a parent in their twenties, thirties or forties with one or two children,” the report states. Yet “behind these medians are young children at one end of the spectrum and vulnerable elderly people in their 90s at the other,” it adds. “In all cases of TA, but particularly in those cases, they are denied their dignity.” The FOI data shows that Brent and Tower Hamlets are each supporting at least one homeless 97-year-old in TA, while the oldest TA resident in Newham is 96, and in Kingston-upon-Thames is 95. Where a local authority is unable to accommodate a family, they are sent outside of the borough, and sometimes out of London altogether.

Citizens UK’s research found that the city’s councils place on average 43 per cent of households outside of their boundaries, but some of London’s most affluent authorities place significantly higher percentages. “Bromley, Richmond-upon-Thames and Merton are among the least disadvantaged, but place some of the highest percentages of their residents outside of their boundaries at over 75 per cent,” the report states. It adds that households in Ealing are sent as far as Newcastle, families in Redbridge as far as Wakefield, and Wandsworth residents as far as Gwynedd.

“Temporary accommodation should be a lifeline for those who need it, not a trap,” said Emmanuel Gotora, assistant director at Citizens UK. “This research sheds light on the harsh realities that people living in temporary accommodation face daily. Families spend years, and even decades, in accommodation that is supposed to act as a springboard into a stable home. For many, basic necessities such as access to cooking facilities, washing and drying clothes, and storing belongings are not being met. No one should have to live this way, and no child should be growing up without the security of a home that meets all of their needs. We need urgent action to deal with this crisis. The Government must step up and set national standards to ensure people can live with dignity across the country.”

Responding, a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “The Government inherited a serious housing crisis which is why we are taking urgent and decisive action to end homelessness, fix the foundations of local government and drive forward our Plan for Change. We are providing £1bn for crucial homelessness services this year so councils can support families faster, including an extra £78 million for London than the previous Government. Alongside this we are also tackling the root causes by building 1.5m new homes and boosting social and affordable housing, as well as delivering safe housing for temporary accommodation tenants and abolishing section 21’no fault evictions through the Renters’ Rights Bill.” The Government adds that it has also launched a series of ‘Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots’, backed by £8m, and is working with 20 councils with the highest levels of B&B use for temporary accommodation, to support them move families into “more suitable accommodation”.

Grace Williams, London Councils’ executive member for housing, said: “London is the epicentre of the worsening homelessness emergency, with the capital accounting for over half of all households in temporary accommodation in England. Homelessness has a devastating impact on too many Londoners. In the face of a chronic shortage of affordable accommodation, boroughs increasingly find ourselves forced to use the least-worst options to keep a roof over the heads of homeless families. We are determined to raise standards in temporary accommodation – and to reduce the number of families reliant on it – but we need the resources and support to make this happen faster. Boroughs are seeking urgent Government action to tackle the fundamental factors behind homelessness – particularly through investing far more in affordable housing.”

Homeless Army Veteran Found Dead In Liverpool City Centre

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Tragic details of man who died close to well-known city pub revealed, reports the Liverpool Echo.

A homeless former British army soldier was found dead sitting in an alleyway in Liverpool city centre. Ian Roberts was 52-years-old when he was found dead, sitting in an alley outside 9 Pudsey Street, which is the location of Ma Egerton’s Pub and close to Liverpool Lime Street Station. Mr Roberts was found dead on January 8 of this year. An inquest was opened into his death on January 11 and the full hearing was held on Monday of this week.

The ECHO has received the Record of Inquest produced following the hearing at the Gerard Majella Courthouse this week, which provides further details about the death of Mr Roberts. The inquest was heard before coroner Anita Bhardwaj. The record confirms that Mr Roberts was born on January 30 1972 and was 52-years-old at the time of his death. His occupation is listed as a retired soldier in the British Army. The coroner recorded a medical cause of death as pneumonia and mixed drug toxicity. The conclusion of the coroner was that his death was drug-related.

The report states: “Ian Roberts was a 52-year-old gentleman who had a number of co-morbidities, including a history of drug dependence, above knee amputation, seizure disorder and hepatitis C.” Speaking about his death, the report adds: “On January 8 2025 Ian was found deceased sat in an alleyway outside 9, Pudsey Street, Liverpool.”

The record states that Mr Roberts was known to the We Are With You charity – an organisation that helps people with drug, alcohol and mental health issues – over the years, but the last contact he had with the charity had been on November 4 2024 to discuss receiving a methadone prescription. But the inquest heard he did not collect his prescription and informed his keyworker he did not want further support, or prescriptions, therefore his file was closed pending any further contact.

The toxicological analysis carried out on Mr Roberts after his death revealed the presence of a number of drugs, both prescribed and illicit. A post-mortem examination found the presence of pneumonia and found that Mr Roberts died as a result of pneumonia exacerbated by the drug toxicity causing respiratory depression. The report states: “It is more likely than not the central factor in Ian’s death was the drug toxicity.”

When the ECHO initially reported on the death of Mr Roberts, we confirmed that while he was homeless, he was not believed to be sleeping rough at the time of his death in January. He had last been sleeping rough in November of 2024. It is understood that prior to that date, he had been living in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation and more recently had been in other forms of temporary accommodation. The inquest report confirmed his address at the time of his death as a room at the Suites Hotel in Ribblers Lane in Knowsley.

Put Drug Overdose Kits On The Streets To Save Homeless Peoples’ Lives

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The Salvation Army has called for overdose antidote naloxone to be more widely available in public places to prevent drug deaths on the street, reports the Big Issue.

Lifesaving overdose antidote naloxone must be made available in public places alongside first aid kits, a homelessness charity has warned, to prevent drug deaths on the street. The Salvation Army said putting drug overdose kits in places such as pubs, bars and clubs, festivals, trains and bus stations as well as shopping centres could save lives. As many as 20,000 people could die after taking opioid drugs in the next five years, the charity’s analysis of drug-related death figures showed. They said the UK has one of the highest drug death rates in Europe with 18 people in the UK dying every day – 89% more than a decade ago.

Opioids, including heroin and prescription painkillers, make up a large proportion of those fatalities. Big Issue has been raising the alarm on dangerous synthetic drugs including nitazenes in recent months, reporting that the drugs have been linked to 284 deaths in the UK between June 2023 and October 2024. Lee Ball, The Salvation Army’s director of addictions, said the risk to people experiencing homelessness is now so substantial that leaders should consider making overdose antidotes accessible on the street.

“The risk of drug overdose has never been so great. Every death from drugs is a tragedy that can and should be prevented,” said Ball. “Now, with the newer synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which is 50 times more potent than heroin, and various nitazenes, which can be hundreds of times more lethal, the danger has significantly increased. These substances, sometimes mixed into other drugs without people’s knowledge, are fuelling a serious and fast-growing problem in the UK.”

He added: “Making naloxone available in public places alongside first aid kits should be seen as no different to stocking defibrillators for cardiac arrest or using EpiPens for life-threatening allergies. We would greatly welcome a government-led consultation with public and private sector organisations on how to make this a reality.” Naloxone can be given as either a nasal spray or injection to temporarily reverse an opioid drug overdose as well as for newer, more dangerous synthetic drugs such as fentanyl. This gives enough time for emergency services to arrive on the scene.

Declan Hanratty, 49, from Swindon, nearly lost his life to a heroin addiction but has managed to turn his life around with the help of The Salvation Army and now volunteers to help others beat addiction. Hanratty knows only too well the dangers drugs pose on the street and is backing the charity’s call for action. “When I was taking heroin and sleeping rough, I woke up one morning and the girl next to me was dead. I overdosed myself once. It was a horrible experience. I was found behind the wheel of my car and kept in hospital for five days,” said Hanratty. “People who haven’t experienced it have the impression that addiction is fun, but the reality is the opposite. Addiction is a physical, mental and spiritual sickness, and recovery takes time. So, to help people who end up overdosing, I think naloxone should be available everywhere.”

Salvation Army volunteer Liz Brown, aged 61 from Plymouth, saved a man’s life last Christmas Eve by giving him naloxone. She started carrying it after losing her eldest son to a drug overdose. Brown, a mother of four, also lost another son to the long-term effects of drugs. “I was on my way to The Salvation Army, where I volunteer at a homeless drop-in service, when I found a man slumped on the floor,” said Brown.  “As I got closer, I could see he’d taken something, so I gave him some naloxone. As soon as I saw him, I just knew I had to do something. I stayed with him till the ambulance got there. I was in shock afterwards, to be honest, but the naloxone was actually easy to use.”

She added: “People with addiction are suffering and need proper help – that’s how they should be treated. Having a go at them or trying to make them feel ashamed doesn’t change anything. I used to feel embarrassed about my sons taking drugs, but not anymore because that won’t help people or stop them dying. What does help is making sure they get the support they need. And that’s why I’m now speaking out about what I’ve experienced.”

The Salvation Army is taking its campaign to parliament to urge MPs to act on Wednesday (18 June). The charity is calling for a government-commissioned public awareness campaign about naloxone and wants all frontline police officers to carry it so they can administer it if they are first on the scene at a medical emergency. Anyone known to use opioids should also be issued with naloxone to take home when leaving hospital or prison, the charity said, as well as calling on local authorities to introduce a naloxone policy.

‘Law Change Alone Not Enough To Help Homeless’

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The government has decided to decriminalise homelessness in England and Wales – but charity bosses say the move will do little to give dignity to rough sleepers, reports the BBC.

Last week ministers announced plans to scrap the Vagrancy Act – first introduced in 1824 – with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner labelling it “cruel and outdated”. Representatives from homelessness charities said they were unaware of the legislation still being used to prosecute people, with a government spokesperson admitting use of the act had “significantly declined over the years”. Tim Renshaw, chief executive of the Sheffield-based Cathedral Archer Project, said: “I think it will bypass most people that they could have been arrested purely for being vagrant.”

Mr Renshaw, whose organisation helps people off the streets, said the law change was “probably going to be trumped up as something it probably isn’t”.

“Nobody is seeing people who don’t have homes as criminals by default,” he said. “They are seeing the behaviour of some of those people who don’t have homes as anti-social and are therefore looking for enforcement against that.” According to Mr Renshaw, the announcement “lacks the other element of how do we give dignity, if we are not going to say that people are criminals? How do we include them in society?”

The Labour government said it planned to replace the Vagrancy Act with “targeted measures” that would “ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe”. They would include new offences of facilitating begging for gain and trespassing with the intention of committing a crime.

Mr Renshaw said any enforcement measures should be accompanied by support for homeless people. “If we say: ‘You can’t do that activity in that place’, at the same time we need to be saying: ‘How do we support you not to do that activity in this place?’ It’s not that enforcement doesn’t have a place, it’s just that by itself it will only ever displace [from one area to another].”

In Sheffield, the Cathedral Archer Project is working on what Mr Renshaw calls a “support model”, backed by authorities including the police and city council. Homelessness has become more visible in the city centre in recent years, with an outreach charity counting 71 people sleeping rough in and around central Sheffield in August last year. Steve Richardson, a trustee of Bradford charity Homeless Not Hopeless, welcomed the law change as a “great step forward”, but said it “should just be the first step”. “People can at least live their lives without automatically being criminalised,” he said. “Let’s start putting in place the mechanisms to actually help and support them.”

Mr Richardson described the Vagrancy Act as “a convenient rule if somebody needed to be moved on as a threat”. However, in his view, “just giving people a flat isn’t the answer”. “These people, after years of sleeping rough, have complex needs,” he added. “They need some support to address them.” Homeless Not Hopeless supports between 100 and 150 people in Bradford every week, a “significant proportion” of whom are homeless, said Mr Richardson. It is based next to railway arches at Forster Square Station, a location where some of the city’s homeless would sleep until they were moved on by Bradford Council last year to provide space for art installations as part of City of Culture 2025.

Mr Richardson said he was “absolutely confident” people on the streets would “pay back every penny of investment to get them back on their feet”. They want jobs, they want to work, to pay tax. Many, many many of them also try to give something back. We have several people we have supported over the years who have come back and volunteered.”

The government said it had boosted funding for homelessness services by an extra £233m this financial year, bringing total investment for 2025-26 to nearly £1bn. A spokesperson said the deputy prime minister was also developing a new homelessness strategy with other government departments, as well as mayors and councils, to be published later this year.