‘Shocking’ homeless figures

Construction workers union Ucatt has urged the government to invest more money in housing after new figures show that almost 63,000 families in England are homeless. The union said it was a ‘damning indictment’ of 30 years of failed government policies on housing along with a belief held for ‘far too long’ that people were only considered successful if they owned a house. A spokesperson for Ucatt called for the government to create a housing market with a greater mix of tenures, to allow local authorities to build more properties and for builders who are being laid off because of the economic downturn to be given work building homes for rent.