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1 in 100 households in England suffering a form of homelessness, charity finds

ALMOST one in 100 households in England now suffer some kind of homelessness, according to statistics published today.

The research by homelessness charity Crisis says forms of homelessness affect 0.94 per cent of families in England.

It says tens of thousands of individuals and families are sleeping on the streets, sofa-surfing, dossing down in hovels and garages or using temporary accommodation and B&Bs.

Scotland and Wales suffer roughly half the level of the problem faced by people in England, with 0.57 per cent in Scotland and 0.66 per cent in Wales experiencing such forms of homelessness.

Crisis chief executive Jon Sparkes said that since 2012 England has had consistently higher rates of “core homelessness” than both Scotland and Wales, with rates growing faster in England since then.

He said the problem had eased during the worst parts of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown when swift government action was taken, but that it needed to continue.

“The emergency response to the pandemic from national and local government, as well as homelessness services, saw thousands of people moved off the streets and given safe self-contained accommodation,” he said.

“There is no doubt that action saved lives. But, with the economic impact of the pandemic yet to take effect, it is critical that we act now to protect against a rise in homelessness.”

Inroads into homelessness in Scotland have been made through joint action by the Scottish government and local authorities, including more social and affordable housing, Crisis said. An action plan that was produced led to a move towards rapidly rehousing people into settled accommodation.

“This research shows that with the right political will, and by working together, we can make huge strides in tackling homelessness,” said Mr Sparkes.

A UK government spokeswoman said: “Tackling homelessness is a priority for the government, and as part of that we are spending an unprecedented £750 million this year as part of our commitment to end rough sleeping during this parliament.

“We have made huge progress to bring rough sleepers off the streets during the pandemic and helped over 37,000 people into safe and secure accommodation, including 26,000 who have already moved into longer-term accommodation.”
 

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