Morning Briefing: council cuts disproportionately hitting areas with highest homeless deaths
Local government cuts are disproportionately hitting areas that have the highest numbers of deaths among homeless people, writes The Guardian this morning
The paper publishes analysis by the Labour Party which has found that nine of the 10 councils with the highest number of deaths among homeless people in England and Wales between 2013 and 2017 have had cuts more than three times the national average of £254 for every household.
The authorities include Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Blackburn and the London boroughs of Camden, Westminster, Lambeth and Tower Hamlets.
Shadow housing secretary John Healey said that the figures made the “prospect of reducing deaths ever more bleak”.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Every death on our streets is a tragedy… That’s why we are investing £1.2bn to tackle homelessness and have bold plans backed by £100m to end rough sleeping in its entirety.”
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The Liverpool Echo has more on a story the broke last month regarding Liverpool Council’s decision to start building council homes for the first time in 30 years.
The paper reports that the council has now been given the green light by the government to start building and has negotiated a deal that will see £735m of its housing debt effectively written off.
There are also details of the first homes that will be built by the council – a small number of properties in the city’s Picton area, which will be available for £76 per week.
The Independent reports on new figures that show a dramatic increase in the number of reports of abuse at care homes in England.
Official figures from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) show that there were 67,590 reported allegations of abuse received by the CQC in 2018, compared with 37,060 reported allegations in 2014.
Dan Scorer, head of policy and public affairs at learning disability charity Mencap, described the steep rise in reported allegations as “alarming”.
The BBC runs a video that shows a tenant who lives in a flat with a view of Grenfell Tower carrying out his own safety test on his block.
Paul Croucher ignited smoke pellets that went up to the top floor of his 17-storey block in west London. He claimed that this shows the fire doors in the block do not work correctly.
Westminster Council said that it was in the process of replacing all of the fire doors on the estate and warned Mr Croucher that his actions had alarmed neighbours.
On social media
With Housing 2019 on the horizon, the preparations are well under way:
@CIH_Housing #ukhousing @HomesEngland @mhclg spoiler alert for the 8500 people descending on Housing 2019. Our fabulous #haus4one thanks to @BeattiePassive @CartrefiConwy pic.twitter.com/bbvnixQrJ9
— Sarah Payling (@SarahPayling)@CIH_Housing #ukhousing @HomesEngland @mhclg spoiler alert for the 8500 people descending on Housing 2019. Our fabulous #haus4one thanks to @BeattiePassive @CartrefiConwy pic.twitter.com/bbvnixQrJ9
— Sarah Payling (@SarahPayling) June 23, 2019
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