Bighous’ Post

💔🏘️ New research by Crisis reveals shocking stats on the homelessness crisis in England: * Nearly 250,000 households in England face homelessness. * 85% of councils see a rise in homelessness - the highest in years. * London leads with over half of all homeless households! London Councils estimates nearly 170,000 Londoners homeless, putting immense financial strain on boroughs, costing £60 million monthly. 🔗 Read full article here: https://lnkd.in/eQMgwiVi #HomelessnessCrisis #LondonCouncils

not going to like this we have to remind ourselves that political decisions have led here and only better political decisions combined with the work of the third sector will change

NEW BLOG: With today’s homelessness stats showing a sharp rise in rough sleeping and RECORD numbers of children in temporary accommodation, it’s clear the next government is set to inherit a deepening housing emergency.  It’s also crystal clear that ignoring a crisis of this magnitude cannot continue. Read our analysis of the government’s data, and what the next government must do to fix the housing emergency for good 👇 https://shltr.org.uk/QfkTd  

Alarmingly, one in 200 households in the UK are now living in emergency lodgings outside the formal housing sector. Whoever forms the next government will have their work cut out in tackling what has become one of the saddest legacies the country has inherited. But after all the noise has quietened down after the election, what do policy makers intend to practically do to support those in greatest need of safe, affordable, sustainable housing, and what will immediately be put in place to tackle homelessness before the next winter encroaches upon us? The Labour party believes they have the answer, with their proposal to establish a new civil service unit tasked with ending the UK's homelessness emergency. Like former Labour PM Tony Blair's 'Rough Sleeping Unit', , Angela Rayner, Labour's current deputy leader, plans to set up an 'Ending Homelessness Unit', which aims to reach not only those who are rough sleepers but also people "who lack a permanent home, [are] sleeping in shelters or moving regularly between hostels, bed-sits and friends' homes", according to news site Bloomberg, cited in this article. However, there has been criticism from some quarters about Labour's manifesto not including enough detail on this proposal, nor on any budgetary plans for ending homelessness. Will things finally start to change once the election the dust settles, or will we be looking at an even greater homelessness crisis this coming winter? Why is Britain so bad at tackling homelessness? https://buff.ly/3xjKCIw #homelessness #election #policy

https://lnkd.in/ex6Rr8_7 #bettersocietycapital Britain has the worst record on homelessness in the developed world. Our vision on what homelessness is needs to change. #bsc leading the initiative on this hugely important issue facing the UK

Public Sector! Did you know close to 4,000 people sleep on streets every night in the UK after becoming homeless...many more live in temporary accommodation's or face the threat of eviction. How can Social Housing providers help this crisis ⁉ - Building more homes... the government should set a target to build at least 100,000 - 150,000 new social homes each year. - Utilise public land that can be leveraged for new social housing projects to ensure new developments are both feasible and strategically located. - Revamping existing housing stock to renovate and repurpose existing buildings which can provide additional housing options. I'm eager to know my networks thoughts on this homelessness crisis... What are your thoughts on this? 🤔 #publicsector #socialhousing #housing2024 #localauthorities #councils #homelessnesscrisis #newdevelopment

Hey all, Quickly I want to plug the `Ethics of gatekeeping` event tonight which is online, 7:30 by Homelessness Best Practice - just head to their youtube account. This #ThoughtfulThursday I was looking at the following story https://lnkd.in/ece5xPc5 Homelessness is on the increase in the UK and it makes it difficult for councils to afford - now I still think they should provide for rough sleepers and not `gatekeep` due to finances but it certainly is an issue. Coupled with that was the news from the Autumn Statement yesterday that the Government are unfreezing housing benefits (Local Housing Allowances) which is really good news and hopefully will mean people will receive more which may mean that they will be bale to cope easier with rising rents. The LHA has been frozen for the past 3? years I believe. Councils can now increase this figure but again if they do this will have an impact on council's budgets so it will be interesting to see if they do raise them and if so by how much. #southend #AutumnStatement #council

#houselessness #UK #temporaryaccommodation #developedworld #affordablehousing 'When people picture homelessness, they tend to imagine people sleeping rough on the street, tipped into insecurity by substance use problems. Viewed this way, one might imagine the US would rank highest in any international comparison. Wrong. The main form of homelessness is people living in temporary accommodation, the main driver is an inability to afford housing, and America is not even particularly close to the worst. The UK holds that ignominious title, with an astonishing one in 200 households living in emergency lodging outside the formal housing sector. Britain has by far the highest rate of homelessness in the developed world There is a certain out of sight, out of mind quality to temporary accommodation, but it accounts for more than 80 per cent of homelessness across the OECD. Hundreds of thousands of people across the developed world live this peripheral and fragile existence, and Britain’s record is dire. Conditions in these buildings are often atrocious. Damp and mould are commonplace, as are insect and animal infestations. The disruption of being moved from place to place causes adults to drop out of work and children out of school. In the past five years alone, the parlous state of temporary accommodation has been cited as a contributing factor in the deaths of 55 children in England. This nightmare scenario is due to three main factors: woefully inadequate rates of housebuilding, a dwindling social housing sector and the erosion of financial support for those unable to afford market rents.'

An important job to tackle after next week's General Election. As homelessness and rough sleeping rise to record highs – the supply of social and affordable housing is falling significantly. As attendees reflect on Housing 2024 in Manchester this week several concerning pieces of data were released yesterday showing: 🚩Rough sleeping has now reached a record high in London 🚩Across England affordable housing starts funded by subsidies from Homes England or GLA fell by more than 23,000 homes year-on-year to their lowest level since 2016. 🚩Social housing starts funded in the same way also fell by 15%. We cannot solve the homelessness crisis facing London and England without increasing the supply of social and affordable housing. Indeed, the lack of affordable housing for people is a significant factor driving increases in homelessness and rough sleeping. Pleased to work with Riverside and The Hyde Group yesterday to raise awareness of these important issues in The Guardian, Evening Standard, Big Issue, The Independent and dozens of local and regional media outlets. Yesterday the number of people sleeping rough in London increased by almost a fifth to almost 12,000 people. This is more double the number of people sleeping rough in London in 2011/12. Whoever forms the next UK Government needs to tackle the growing housing and homelessness crisis. #housing #homelessness #socialhousing #housing24 #housing2024 #PR #communications #data

The UK National Audit Office has published a new report on government effectiveness in tackling homelessness. Key findings include: ·      Homelessness has increased in recent years and is now at the highest level since comparable data collection began in the early 2000s. ·      A shortage of available housing makes it expensive for local authorities to house people in temporary accommodation, as well as harder for people to find a home. ·      Local authority spending on homelessness services has more than doubled since 2010-11. This puts severe financial strain on councils, with some telling the NAO that homelessness pressures could result in them issuing a Section 114 notice – effectively a declaration of bankruptcy. Central government’s funding arrangements for local authorities’ homelessness services remain “complex, fragmented, and sometimes uncertain”. The NAO's analysis shows why a new approach to tackling homelessness is urgently required. Cllr Grace Williams, our Executive Member for Housing & Regeneration, said: "As this report clearly demonstrates, government policy could be far more effective in tackling homelessness and getting to grips with its underlying causes. Better co-ordination across government departments, greater housing security, sufficient funding for councils, and more investment in building affordable homes are key to turning the situation around." Read our full statement here: https://lnkd.in/edeHVSVT #homelessness #housingpolicy #localgov #Londonhousingcrisis