ROOF Blog

The Electoral Commission is reminding people living in temporary accommodation that they don’t need a permanent address to have a say at the next general election. The independent elections watchdog has produced a poster encouraging residents in shelters, hostels and bed and breakfasts to discuss how to register to vote with their accommodation managers. The project is being supported by Homeless Link, whose chief executive Jenny Edwards commented: ‘Homeless Link believes it is crucial that those who are experiencing homelessness use their political voice to influence the environment in which they live and the services they use. We welcome the recognition of the importance of homeless people’s votes and are working to increase awareness of voter registration procedures.’

The government has revealed how much councils are paying to house homeless families. Topping the list is Newham council in London which paid £71 million out of a total homelessness spend of £87 million, in one year to lease homes from private sector landlords, nearly double the second highest spending council, Westminster. The top ten spending councils on homelessness were all in London. In total English councils spent £327 million on temporary leasehold properties out of a total homelessness budget of £943 million in 2006/07.

A Kent couple who lost their jobs and could not afford to pay their mortgage have been found living in a garage. The couple had been renting the garage, which has no water or electricity, to store their possessions, but moved in when they became homeless and had ‘nowhere to go’. Swale borough council has found them somewhere to stay temporarily and advised them to make a homelessness application.

Forty flood-hit families a week have been returning to their homes following the floods in the summer of 2007. Figures from the councils involved in the floods said that of the 17,000 families who had to leave their homes 98 per cent are now back. However, 350 families are still in temporary accommodation and around 10 per cent of these are living partly or wholly in caravans, or on the top floor of their homes.

Westminster city council has promised to rehouse all overcrowded households by 2014. More than 3,000 households are in priority need on the council’s waiting list, including people with medical needs, those living in temporary accommodation and more than 1,000 families in overcrowded households. The first 40 households living in the most severely overcrowded properties will be moved by the end of the year.

Sixty children become homeless in Scotland every day, Shelter Scotland warns – the equivalent of 22,000 young people a year. This is an 18 per cent increase during the past five years. The research also found a 27 per cent increase in the number of families in temporary accommodation over three years. Shelter says the problem is likely to get worse as economic conditions worsen.

The fourth quarter statutory homelessness figures have been released today. In the three months from October to December 2008, the number of households accepted as homeless was 12,070 – 21 per cent lower than during the same period in 2007, and 62 per cent lower than the same period in 2003, the year of the most recent peak. Households in temporary accommodation have decreased 15 per cent in year-on-year figures, the largest drop since figures peaked in 2004 and the thirteenth consecutive quarterly fall.

Figures published by the Department of Health revealing the state of the country’s health shows that the proportion of children in poverty (both before and after housing costs) has fallen since 1997/98, although it has risen slightly since 2004/5. Meanwhile the number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation peaked in 2005, and has been decreasing steadily since. The number of people in poor quality housing has also decreased.

A scheme in Edinburgh which places the homeless in private flats and houses is to be expanded as the city struggles to meet demand for affordable housing. During the past three years around 1,500 homeless people have been housed in private accommodation with rents subsidised by the council’s private sector leasing (PSL) scheme. Statistics show that 42 per cent of households living in PSL households were working, compared with just 17 per cent of households in temporary accommodation. Housing groups have welcomed moves to expand the scheme, but say the longer-term goal is still affordable housing.

The Liberal Democrats today published figures showing a 9 per cent increase in the number of children living in temporary housing this Christmas. Almost 88,000 children are living in temporary accommodation this year, an increase of 9 per cent since 2004/05, with London bearing the brunt after a massive 38 per cent increase in numbers.