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Homelessness statistics: LGA statement
“Councils want to turn the tide of rising homelessness. A genuine cross-departmental approach to tackling this crisis, as part of a long-term government strategy, is key with councils given the powers and resources needed to address the national shortage of affordable housing.”
Responding to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's latest homelessness statistics, Cllr Claire Holland, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association said:
“The shortage of affordable housing means that more and more people are having to turn to their local council for support and these figures worryingly show councils are supporting another record-high number of households living in temporary accommodation.
“The temporary accommodation subsidy gap, currently stuck at 2011 levels, needs to be urgently addressed as this is driving ever higher-spend on temporary accommodation and limiting the resources available for homelessness prevention. The Government’s ban on ‘no-fault’ evictions, which are driving rising homelessness rates, also needs to be brought forward as quickly as possible.
“Councils want to turn the tide of rising homelessness. A genuine cross-departmental approach to tackling this crisis, as part of a long-term government strategy, is key with councils given the powers and resources needed to address the national shortage of affordable housing.”