Almost 80,000 Families A Year Could Be Homeless By 2020

Almost 80,000 families a year in England face the prospect of becoming homeless by 2020 unless cuts to housing benefit and support are abandoned. The projection, which includes 60,000 households with children, is in addition to those sleeping rough on the streets. The new statistics will alarm campaigners who have already warned the most vulnerable people would not be able to afford the rent on their homes if the Government goes ahead with the budget cuts. John Healey, former housing minister, has published his projections to persuade the new administration to abandon cuts to housing support and housing benefit. The projections are based on the average annual increase of homeless households in Britain between 2009 and 2016, which currently stands at 6.3 per cent. If the trend continues over the next five years this would mean 78,393 homelessness cases by 2020-21. Read more on the Independent website.