London Mayor 'Concerned' Over Homeless Families Facing Expulsion

Boris Johnson has admitted he is "concerned" by a Guardian survey that shows London councils are preparing to send thousands of homeless families to live in temporary homes outside the capital and will consider launching a campaign against the move.  The London mayor gave his reaction after it emerged councils were acquiring properties in Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Sussex and further afield to cope with an expected increase in the number of vulnerable families presenting as homeless as a result of welfare cuts from next April. The plans are in defiance of ministerial demands that people should continue to be housed locally.  Speaking at a City Hall event in which he announced that the London Living Wage had risen by 25p to £8.55, to ensure workers can afford a decent standard of living in the capital, Johnson said: "I am concerned by the story. We are now trying to establish the numbers involved and, depending on that, it will affect how we deal with it ... If there are large-scale movements happening ... which is, as you remember, something I didn't want to see, then we need to get to the bottom of it and campaign against it."  Read more on the Guardian website.