One In Four Households Living In Temporary Accommodation Moved To Different Council Area

More than a quarter of households currently living in temporary accommodation have been moved away from the local authority that they first became homeless in, latest government statistics have shown. Of the 93,490 households living in temporary accommodation at the end of September last year, 25,930 (28%) were living in a local authority that was different to the one they submitted a homelessness application in. The percentage of homeless households being placed in temporary accommodation outside of their own council area has more than doubled over the past decade, with just 13% of households being placed outside of their home authority in 2011. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/one-in-four-households-living-in-temporary-accommodation-moved-to-different-council-area-69434?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60 

London Council Halts ‘Out Of Borough’ Homeless Placements

Enfield Council will stop moving homeless people outside of the borough, as part of a wider effort to end its “extensive use” of temporary accommodation. The council will begin its new approach by relocating residents who have been placed in permitted development blocks in Harlow, Essex. Mark Ingall, leader of Harlow council, has welcomed the move by Enfield which is responsible for roughly half of the "out of borough" placements made by London councils in Harlow. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/london-council-halts-out-of-borough-homeless-placements-63566?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

24,000 Homeless Families ‘Sent Miles From Local Area’

The number of homeless families forced to move away from their communities is at its highest for 20 years, as councils struggle to find accommodation for the growing numbers of people in need. According to official government figures, there were 23,640 families in temporary accommodation outside their local area in the second quarter of this year, the highest level in 20 years and more than double that recorded over the same period just five years ago. The new data has emerged amid rising anger over homelessness, with recent research showing that deaths among homeless people in England and Wales have increased every year since 2013, from 475 in 2014 to 597 last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. Read more on the Observer website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/23/24000-homeless-families-sent-miles-from-local-area

Homeless People Given One-Way Tickets To Other Areas

Councils have given thousands of rough sleepers and homeless people one-way train, bus and flight tickets to leave areas and sometimes even to leave the country in the last four years, a Guardian investigation can reveal. The tickets were bought through “reconnection policies” that aim to encourage rough sleepers to voluntarily return to areas where they have family and support networks. It has been described as “street cleansing” and an abdication of responsibility by some campaigners and MPs. Data obtained by the Guardian shows for the first time that 6,810 travel tickets have been purchased across 83 councils in England and Wales since 2015. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/28/revealed-homeless-people-given-one-way-tickets-to-leave-areas

Council Accused Of "Social Cleansing" After Moving Homeless Out Of The Area

A Thurrock councillor has accused the council of “social cleansing” after new figures revealed that a growing number of vulnerable families are being moved to neighbouring boroughs. The Thurrock Independent Party claims that more than 100 families could be permanently housed outside of the borough by the end of the year. The leader of the party, Luke Spillman, said the council is “active participants in social cleansing” and he estimates as many as 118 families could be permanently rehoused out of the borough by the end of the year. Last year there was just 15. Read more on the Echo website.

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/16594933.council-accused-of-social-cleansing-after-moving-homeless-out-of-the-area/

2,000 Birmingham Households Moved To B&Bs Up To 100 Miles Away

Almost 2,000 Birmingham households have been moved by the council up to 100 miles away in the last five years as a result of the chronic shortage of social housing. Birmingham City Council says vulnerable families and individuals made homeless in the city are having to live in temporary accommodation - almost always in ‘bed and breakfasts’ - in cities as far away as Manchester, Nottingham and Leicester. The data underlines how councils are struggling to cope with long waiting lists for social housing, and that the practice of placing people in temporary accommodation outside of their home area has now stretched beyond London. Read more on the Huffington Post website.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/birmingham-temporary-accommodation_uk_5af3269be4b0a0d601e94325

Councils Buying Homeless One-Way Train Tickets

A number of councils in England are regularly buying one-way train tickets for homeless people out of their area. The strategy can be used to reconnect rough sleepers with family, but one man said he was offered a ticket to a city he had never been to before. The government said it was investing £550 million to tackle homelessness. Twenty councils with the highest number of rough sleepers in England were asked - some by Freedom of Information request - how many homeless people had been offered the "reconnection" policy of a one-way train ticket between 2012 and 2017. Of the 11 that responded, 10 said they had bought such tickets. Read more on the BBC website.

Number Of Homeless Families Being Moved From Local Area Doubles In Five Years

The number of homeless families being moved away from their local area has increased by 59% in last five years, according to a new report. Councils are relocating tenants in temporary accommodation that is further away due to rising rental costs, the study from BBC Radio 5 live’s Afternoon Edition revealed. Read more on the Metro website.

Policy Of Moving Homeless Out Of The Area Spreads

London councils have been moving homeless families out of the capital for some time and now it appears the policy is spreading across the country.  The policy was a result of cuts to housing benefit, soaring house prices and a lack of social housing. It mean local authorities in the capital have been moving homeless people to places like Luton or Milton Keynes and even further afield to cities like Birmingham and Nottingham. Not only is this incredibly difficult for the families moved away from their homes and support networks - it also has a knock on effect on the areas they arrive in. Many of the receiving towns now face a housing crisis of their own. Read more on politics.co.uk

10-Year Wait For A Council House

At least 104,000 people in Britain have been on waiting lists for council-owned or ALMO homes, and at least 35,000 have been on the same waiting lists for 10 years. The research was compiled by the Liberal Democrats from 158 councils. It comes after one of Britain’s richest boroughs – where some face waiting 25 years for a four-bed social home – announced new plans to move homeless families out of the capital. Westminster City Council, which has had 779 people on waiting lists for a decade, admitted it must make ‘difficult choices’ to cut spiralling spending on temporary accommodation. Read more on 24housing.

Westminster Denies Sending Homeless Residents To The Midlands

Conservative-led Westminster City Council have categorically denied accusations they are sending residents in need of temporary accommodation to the Midlands. Westminster’s Labour group has accused the council of planning to send residents who have lost homes to cities in the Midlands in order to ‘end any responsibility for Westminster to find them a permanent home.’ The council’s plans argued, according to the Labour group’s interpretation, Coventry, Birmingham and Leicester ‘offer the best opportunities’ for Westminster’s homeless to be rehoused. The council’s rehousing plans show ‘no recognition of the strength of local connections’, the Labour group warned. Read more on the Local Gov website.

Three In Ten Homeless Households Moved Out Of Their Local Area

New figures show that 21,400 households have been moved to a different council area. They account for 29% of all homeless households living in temporary accommodation in England. The numbers are a 15% rise on the year before. There were 74,630 households in temporary accommodation on 30 September this year, an increase of 9% at the same point last year. The total number of households in temporary accommodation has now risen by 55% since 2010. The figures also show the number of children in Britain who face waking up homeless in temporary accommodation this Christmas has reached 124,090. Read more on 24housing.

Council Pays Homeless To Leave With One-Way Rail Tickets

A local authority has bought one-way train tickets for rough sleepers to move them out the area. Bournemouth Borough Council said nine people had been funded to leave in recent months. The authority said it was part of a new £200,000 strategy using "assertive techniques and procedures". Cabinet member for housing, Councillor Robert Lawton, said: "There's a chance they'll come back and that's something we'll have to live with." In April, councillors were told a new homelessness strategy was being prepared in light of figures showing the number of people sleeping rough in 2015 had risen to 47 from the 2014 figure of 31. Read more on the BBC website.

200 London Families To Move To Council Homes In Barracks

More than 200 families from a London borough are set to move to council homes in east Kent after social housing bosses outbid the local authority to capture the ex-army properties.  The 208 homes at Howe Barracks in Canterbury – which is now closed – were returned to their owners, private housing firm Annington Homes, when the MOD relinquished the lease on them. Canterbury City Council - which has 2,500 people on its housing register - says it submitted a “robust and comprehensive” bid to secure the homes for local people, but lost out to the London Borough of Redbridge – 60 miles away in the north east of the capital. Read more on Kent Online.

Councils 'Forcing Homeless Families To Relocate Miles Away'

Local authorities are unlawfully resettling homeless families in temporary housing far away from their local area, forcing them to spend hours travelling to schools and health services, a study has found. The housing charity Shelter says some councils are guilty of unsafe practices by pressurising homeless families into accepting unsuitable housing up to 100 miles from where they live, causing them unnecessary hardship. Despite official guidance requiring councils to place families where practical in the borough in which they are resident, Shelter says authorities in London are now moving households out of area “as a matter of course”.  Read more on the Observer website.

Borough Accused of 'Exporting' Its Housing Crisis

Westminster Conservatives have housed over 800 Westminster families to temporary accommodation in east and north east London as the capital’s housing crisis deepens.  Overall, Westminster Council has 2,382 families in temporary accommodation with 52% living in Westminster. However, 825 families (34%) have been moved out to cheaper properties in north and east London, with Newham (267), Enfield (87), Barking & Dagenham (85), Waltham Forest (75), Redbridge (72), Haringey (71) and Hackney (67) taking most of Westminster’s homeless families. In addition, 44 families have been housed in Thurrock and 14 in Southend. Read more on the labourwestminster blog.