Homeless Shelter Forced To Close After Funding Ruling

The only emergency night shelter in Manchester and Salford has been forced to close, leaving the area's homeless people with little choice but to sleep on the streets.  Narrowgate night shelter in Pendleton was left with a massive funding gap after it was told by Salford City Council it could no longer accept housing benefit – its main source of income. As a result, the 28 men and women who use the shelter have been left without accommodation, while five staff have been laid off.  Salford council insists it has no say over the decision, which was taken following a legal case involving a shelter in Anglesey, Wales. In that case, a judge ruled that housing benefit was not payable to a night shelter because the way the accommodation was set up meant it could not be classed as a 'home'. Read more on the Guardian website.