Policy Targeting Homeless Families Is 'Tantamount To Social Cleansing’

Charities and politicians are demanding urgent changes to housing policy across Britain and warning that thousands of homeless children's lives may be at risk because they are disappearing from support services after being rehoused. The calls come after an investigation by The Independent uncovered cases of homeless children dying from neglect and abuse after families were moved out of their local authority boundaries. Other evidence in the report suggested that the transfer of homeless families to other parts of the country could have resulted in suicides and miscarriages. Figures obtained exclusively by The Independent show that at least 64,704 homeless families were moved out by London boroughs between July 2011 and June 2015, with more recent data yet to be collated. Read more on the Independent website.

Third of Homeless Londoners Moved Out Of Their Boroughs

A third of homeless families in temporary accommodation in London have been moved outside of their boroughs, according to new figures. A Freedom of Information request showed 47,137 households were being housed temporarily by 32 local authorities from March to August 2015. Around a third of them - 15,795 households - were placed outside the boroughs responsible for housing them. London Councils said authorities were "in the midst of a housing crisis". Read more on the BBC website.

Richest Borough to Move Those in Temporary Housing to Cheaper Areas

The UK’s most expensive borough to live in, the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea, plans to send some of its most vulnerable residents to live outside London because the soaring property market means it can no longer afford to house them. The Conservative authority, where the average home costs £1.4m, will spend £10m buying properties outside the borough for people who have been made homeless. It is searching for 39 homes in outer London, the M25 corridor and the home counties suitable for temporary accommodation, used by people who often suffer physical or mental health problems and are left without a roof over their heads. The policy has been fiercely criticised by housing activists, who say the use of temporary accommodation to house vulnerable tenants will isolate them from vital community support. Read more on the Observer website.

Oxford to Buy Houses for Homeless Outside City

The city of Oxford will today put forward plans to buy social homes from outside its boundaries for the first time because of spiralling house prices, which are rising faster than in London. The local authority will be the first outside the capital that can no longer afford to provide social housing for its homeless families. The plans came under immediate attack from housing organisations, which said that it was “shocking” that families had to be uprooted and sent miles away from their community. Read more on the Times website.