The government has earmarked nearly £1 billion to projects to ensure that everybody has a good home so has Labour actually listened to advice about ending homelessness?
This Site reported earlier this month that child homelessness has doubled in 11 years – to around 160,000, with 123,100 families officially without a home.
I wrote:
Councils are expected to house homeless people in temporary accommodation – paying the up-front costs and then claiming the money back from central government.
But the amount they can claim back has been frozen since a Tory decision to do so in 2011. The Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, says this has cost its members £737.3 million as they have to cover the difference between what central government makes available and the actual cost as rents have increased hugely.
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Don’t get me wrong – Rachel Reeves committed £230 million to solving homelessness in her October Budget. It’s just a shame that this falls short of the amount Shelter said was needed by more than half a billion pounds.
The BBC’s figures are even worse, stating that in 2022-23, £1.75 billion was spent by councils to fund temporary accommodation. But I notice that it does not state how much was covered by frozen central government funding.
Now Angela Rayner has announced nearly £1 billion in funding for councils to tackle homelessness, introduced next April. Don’t get confused – this is not to cover the money already spent since 2011; it is meant to help councils intervene early to stop households becoming homeless, including through mediation with landlords to prevent eviction.
It could also be used on services that prioritise access to permanent social housing for people with a history of repeat homelessness and drug and alcohol abuse.
It is true, though, that the funding includes more than £633m for the homelessness prevention grant, a £192m increase from this year, which will be allocated based on local pressures and helps councils meet their obligation to ensure that people have a place to live.
Hopefully the money will be used to concentrate on helping families with children, after research showed they stay in temporary accommodation 20 per cent longer than those without.
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Has Labour actually listened to advice about ending homelessness?
The government has earmarked nearly £1 billion to projects to ensure that everybody has a good home so has Labour actually listened to advice about ending homelessness?
This Site reported earlier this month that child homelessness has doubled in 11 years – to around 160,000, with 123,100 families officially without a home.
I wrote:
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Now Angela Rayner has announced nearly £1 billion in funding for councils to tackle homelessness, introduced next April. Don’t get confused – this is not to cover the money already spent since 2011; it is meant to help councils intervene early to stop households becoming homeless, including through mediation with landlords to prevent eviction.
It could also be used on services that prioritise access to permanent social housing for people with a history of repeat homelessness and drug and alcohol abuse.
It is true, though, that the funding includes more than £633m for the homelessness prevention grant, a £192m increase from this year, which will be allocated based on local pressures and helps councils meet their obligation to ensure that people have a place to live.
Hopefully the money will be used to concentrate on helping families with children, after research showed they stay in temporary accommodation 20 per cent longer than those without.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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