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Morning Briefing: investigation into unregulated children’s housing

Children as young as 11 are being illegally placed in unregulated homes in England, a BBC investigation into the sector has found

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Picture: Getty
Picture: Getty
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Morning Briefing: investigation into unregulated children’s housing #ukhousing

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The BBC said that leaked research also shows that children who should be in secure homes for their own safety are being placed in unregulated supported accommodation without proper care, with many vulnerable to sexual exploitation or ‘county lines’ criminals.

The government is facing a legal threat from disabled campaigner Fleur Perry over a failure to solve the accessible housing crisis, according to Disability News Service.

At the same time, a mum of two has lost a High Court battle with the government over Universal Credit, with a judge dismissing her claim about being worse off under the new benefit system because it has already received parliamentary scrutiny, Birmingham Live reports.

The same website has a story that Birmingham Council could face a £4m overspend on homelessness for 2019/20, due to rising numbers of people in temporary accommodation.

Kettering Council has followed a number of housing associations and scrapped fixed-term tenancies after finding it was making residents anxious about their future, the Northamptonshire Telegraph reports.

And Sheffield Council has reported that it has found serious hazards in 164 private rented homes through its new selective licensing scheme for landlords, per The Star.

Meanwhile, Brent & Kilburn Times runs a story on Brent Council launching a new smartphone app to manage cleaning on its housing estates.


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Housing sector criticises ‘problematic’ homelessness fundHousing sector criticises ‘problematic’ homelessness fund
Why are so many housing associations turning their backs on fixed-term tenancies?Why are so many housing associations turning their backs on fixed-term tenancies?

In business news, Construction Enquirer reports on “record” results for affordable housebuilding contractor United Living, which saw its profits rise 8% in 2018/19.

Elsewhere, Portsmouth Council has unveiled plans for a new 4,000-home, car-free community on a peninsula partially reclaimed from the sea, according to the BBC.

The New Statesman carries a feature on foodbanks in Warrington, where demand is higher than ever with organisers blaming Universal Credit.

A letter in The Guardian has highlighted how people can be removed from councils’ homeless registers if they are unable to find stable accommodation in the local area.

Anna Minton has written a feature for the same paper about private equity firms’ activity in the UK housing market.

Finally, the Evening Standard runs an opinion piece calling for more public sector land to be made available to tackle London’s housing crisis, while The Economist argues that rent controls – as sought by mayor Sadiq Khan – would worsen the capital’s housing shortage.

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