Homelessness Up By A Third Under The Tories

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.