UK over 250,000 homeless & rising fast - govt figures not credible

[Tony Gosling]

Homeless crisis: Shocking figures reveal number 
of rough sleepers has soared in the last five years
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/homeless-crisis-shocking-figures-reveal-5101400
Daily Mirror / Phil Harris  00:01, 4 February 2015  By Martin Bagot
  The information comes as the Mirror revealed 
how Darren Offord, brother of a Tory MP, was 
sleeping rough and he blamed the Government’s policies
Street life: Darren Orford, brother of Tory MP 
Mathew, blames the Government for his predicament
  A damning report has revealed a surge in 
homelessness due to the ConDem Government’s policies.
Leading charities have published figures showing 
homelessness increased by more than a third in 
the last five years and by 9% in the last year alone.
This despite Government homelessness data showing 
a fall last year amid claims council officials 
were encouraged to record it differently.
Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have 
rounded on the Coalition for a raft of policies 
it blames for the shocking rise.
It comes after the Mirror revealed how Darren 
Offord, brother of a Tory MP, was sleeping rough 
and he blamed the Government’s policies for trapping him on the streets.
England’s 326 local authorities were invited to 
take part in the The Homelessness Monitor: 
England on the impact of economic and policy developments.
The annual independent study blames benefit 
sanctions for the rise as well as housing benefit 
cuts which see people forced to move away from local support networks.
They also blame the hated bedroom tax for forcing 
people in to debt while a shortage of smaller 
properties mean they are unable to downsize.
Of the 43% councils which took part, nine out of 
10 said they expected the situation to get worse 
as benefit cuts continue to impact on those living on the breadline.
Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: 
“Today’s report reveals the true scale of 
homelessness in England, which headline figures no longer reflect.
“Council officials are clear that benefit cuts 
and sanctions are taking a dreadful toll on 
people’s lives with rising numbers facing the 
loss of their home at a time when councils are being forced to cut services.
“This is a desperate state of affairs.
“What this report clearly shows is that political 
choices have a huge impact on homelessness.”
Statutory homeless acceptances were at 40,020 in 
2009/10 and rose to 53,770 in 2012/13. But last year they dropped to 52,270.
But charity investigators carried out interviews 
with council staff and found applicants are 
increasingly being encouraged to choose informal 
‘housing options’ assistance instead of making a 
statutory homelessness application.
They found almost two thirds of local authorities 
believe headline homelessness figures no longer reflect the reality.
When also counting such informal ‘homelessness 
prevention’ and ‘homelessness relief’ there were 280,000 actions in 2013/14.
Mike Fowler, chief executive of Coventry 
Cyrenians who work with the homeless, said: “We 
know from experience that homelessness increases follow any economic downturn.
“What makes this increase worse is that 
government policy appears to be exacerbating the problem significantly."
He added: “An increase in homelessness sees an 
increase in demands for health, educational and 
welfare services as well as the criminal justice system.
“To make those who have the least suffer the most 
is quite wrong, but a false economy is a false 
economy whatever your political persuasion.”
Figures for those ‘facing homelessness’ refers to 
anyone seeking help from their council to find or 
prevent the imminent loss of a home.
These people may be currently homeless, leaving 
an institution and have nowhere to go or at serious risk of losing their home.
Figures for this level of help were at 165,200 in 
2009/10 and rose every year to 227,800 in 2013/14.
It comes after we reported that Darren Offord has 
spent the last decade living on the streets and 
he has now blasted the government’s record on homelessness.
The 43-year-old brother of MP Matthew Offord had 
been sleeping in a bin shed and told how he ended 
up on the streets and addicted to drugs after an 
accident cost him his job and his health.
Julia Unwin, chief executive of the JRF said: 
“Homelessness can be catastrophic for those of us who experience it.
“If we are to prevent a deepening crisis, we must 
look to secure alternatives to home ownership for 
those who cannot afford to buy - longer term, 
secure accommodation at prices that those on the lowest incomes can afford.”
Councils were particularly concerned that the 
impact of the ‘bedroom tax’ is yet to be felt, 
being ‘masked’ by discretionary housing payments 
and social landlords so far unwilling to evict.
One council officer in the Midlands said 
vulnerable people they dealt with were “getting 
thinner as they cannot afford to eat.”
Emma Reynolds MP, Labour’s shadow Housing 
Minister, said: “It’s clear that David Cameron 
has broken his promises to tackle homelessness.
“Rising housing costs and low pay have made it 
more and more difficult for people to stay in their home.
“The Tory-led Government has presided over the 
lowest levels of house building since the 1920s, 
a drop in the number of affordable homes being 
built and policies like the Bedroom Tax have made things even worse.”
Homelessness Minster Kris Hopkins said: “These 
claims are misleading and the fact is statutory 
homelessness remains lower than in 27 of the last 30 years.
“The figures include those who councils have 
helped avoid being made homeless as well as those 
accepted as homeless and shows the wide range of 
options available to help prevent homelessness in the first place.
“This Government has increased spending to 
prevent homelessness and rough sleeping, making 
over £500 million available to local authorities and the voluntary sector.
“We’ve provided Crisis with nearly £14 million in 
funding which will help around 10,000 single 
homeless people find and sustain accommodation in the private rented sector.
“However, we’re determined to do more through our 
£15 million Fair Chance Fund that will help 1,600 
of the most vulnerable homeless young people get 
their lives back on track and the £8 million Help 
for Single Homeless Fund will improve services 
for around 22,000 single people with multiple needs.”

Case study: From a happy home to sleeping rough
Philip Coburn/ Daily Mirror
Fall from grace: Steven Lawrence who once earned 
£40,000 a year ended up homeless
Five years ago Steven Lawrence had a home, a 
family and a jet setting lifestyle.
The hair stylist put on put on demonstrations 
around the world for a famous styling range 
before suffering a nervous breakdown.
“I was just overworked,” said the 52-year-old from Cheshunt, Herts.
“I started drinking heavily because I couldn’t 
cope with everything. Everything went pear-shaped after that.”
Steven was “invited to leave” his £40,000-a-year 
job before going through a divorce and losing contact with his two daughters.
He slept in his company car for the first two 
weeks until they took it back and has been 
bedding down on park benches for the last five years.
Steven explained: “I got in to a stage where I 
had to shoplift just to get food to eat. I went 
to the council but they said the housing waiting list was four to five years.
“I want to work. I get interviews but it’s very 
hard to get spruced up. But they won’t give you a 
job if you have no registered address.
“It’s catch-22."
Yesterday he attended a meeting at his local 
council in his latest bid to find accommodation. 
But with no deposit he was unable to get a room.
Asked if he had a message for the Government, he 
added: “They need to stop spending so much money 
on foreign aid and help people at home.
“And they need to build more houses. I just want 
the politicians in this country to listen to the 
people.“I know if I could get somewhere to live I could get a decent job.”



Hidden homeless: Benefit sanctions blamed as 
rough sleepers increase by a third in five years
Around 280,000 people asked their council for 
help in keeping a roof over the heads in 2013/14
  Jonathan Owen    ---        Wednesday 04 February 2015
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/hidden-homeless-benefit-sanctions-blamed-as-rough-sleepers-increase-by-a-third-in-five-years-10021643.html
Benefit sanctions are contributing to a rise in 
homelessness, according to a new study showing 
there were more than a quarter of a million 
homeless cases in England last year.
Around 280,000 people asked their council for 
help in keeping a roof over the heads in 2013/14, 
up more than a third since 2009/10 and nine per 
cent on last year, according to a report released 
today by Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The research argues that official figures are 
masking the true scale of the problem, as 
councils are increasingly using informal 
approaches to tackle homelessness - such as 
assisting people with debt advice, help to stay 
in a tenancy or family mediation.
Government figures indicate that just 52,000 
households were accepted as homeless in England in 2013/14.
A combination of benefits cuts, changes to 
housing benefit making it difficult to find 
accommodation, and rising rents are resulting in 
people facing severe hardship, according to the report
Services working with homeless people are 
seriously concerned about the rising use of 
sanctions - which are imposed on benefits 
claimants for breaching rules and missing 
appointments - with respondents viewing them as a 
significant cause of homelessness.
The research reveals that 90 per cent of councils 
believe that welfare reforms will continue to 
impact on homelessness. More than half of local 
authorities fearing that things will worsen over the next two years.
The report - which is published as The 
Independent campaigns for more help for Homeless 
Veterans - also found that growing numbers of 
people being forced to live away from their area 
amid a lack of affordable housing locally, and 
more people needing help to cope with debts.
The Homelessness Monitor report found that 
problems are particularly acute in London, where 
a “prime structural contributor to homelessness” 
is a shortfall in the level of new homes being 
built to cope with levels of demand.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive at Crisis, said: 
“Council officials are clear that benefit cuts 
and sanctions are taking a dreadful toll on 
people’s lives, with rising numbers facing the 
loss of their home at a time when councils are 
being forced to cut services. This is a desperate state of affairs.”
Julia Unwin, chief executive at JRF, commented: 
“If we are to prevent a deepening crisis, we must 
look to secure alternatives to home ownership for 
those who cannot afford to buy – longer-term, 
secure accommodation at prices that those on the lowest incomes can afford.”
Homelessness Minster Kris Hopkins said: “These 
claims are misleading and the fact is statutory 
homelessness remains lower than in 27 of the last 30 years.
“This Government has increased spending to 
prevent homelessness and rough sleeping, making 
over £500million available to local authorities and the voluntary sector.”
Responding to the findings, a Government 
spokesman said: “This report is misleading. 
Homelessness is at one of the lowest levels for 
the last 30 years and official evaluation does 
not show a link to welfare reforms - which are 
focused on helping people improve their 
circumstances.” They added: “As the report itself 
says, a 'wide definition' of homelessness is used 
including people staying with friends or relatives.”
The Government's evaluations of the impacts of 
the bedroom tax, and changes to benefits, do not 
show evidence that welfare reforms have caused a 
rise in homelessness, according to officials. 
Around £94 billion is being spent each year on 
'working age benefits.' Nearly £500million has 
been provided since 2013 to support those 
affected by welfare reforms; and in the first six 
months of 2014 there were around 53,000 fewer 
benefit sanctions compared to the first six 
months of the previous year, say officials.
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Fear not therefore: for there is nothing covered 
that shall not be revealed; and nothing hid that 
shall not be made known. What I tell you in 
darkness, that speak ye in the light and what ye 
hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. Matthew 10:26-27

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