London Exodus Surges As Welfare and Housing Pressures Take Toll

The number of families given council help to leave London rose sharply last year as welfare cuts and the housing crisis forced hundreds of households to move out of the capital. The data from 15 London boroughs points to a 76% rise in the number of families given financial assistance to leave the city between 2012-13 and 2013-14, from 119 to 210.The number of areas to which people moved also increased, reaching 80 - up from 37 in 2012-13. London residents were helped to move as far afield as Newcastle, Cornwall and Scotland. The findings came in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from LGC, which found councils had helped residents to move by paying for removal fees, rent payments and rental deposits. Read more on the LGC website.