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Morning Briefing: ‘thousands’ of rough sleepers not being counted
Thousands of rough sleepers are not being counted by the government, according to Huff Post
In the news
The news site claims that the government’s use of ‘snapshot’ one-night counts for gathering official statistics on rough sleeping levels is vastly underestimating the true picture.
It points out that for last year’s figures, 33 councils recorded zero rough sleepers – including the London borough of Barking and Dagenham.
Council leaders told Huff Post that they back reform of the counting system.
In other news, MPs on the cross-party Work and Pensions Committee have attacked banks for “discriminating” against tenants on housing benefit through ‘no DSS’ policies, The Guardian reports.
The committee told the government to consider banning banks from prohibiting buy-to-let landlord borrowers from taking tenants on housing benefit.
Natwest was forced to apologise over a similar case last month, while research from Shelter and the National Housing Federation found that at least one in 10 private rented homes are advertised as no DSS.
It comes as a report from the Residential Landlords Association published today claims that frozen housing benefit levels are driving a rise in homelessness in the private rented sector, per The Sun.
Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror covers a new report published by two All-Party Parliamentary Groups and co-authored by Lee Sugden, chief executive of Salix Homes, which calls for new smoking to be banned on new social housing estates.
The report found that smoking is twice as common on social housing estates and suggested that tenants should be offered vaping kits.
The Guardian has spoken to Philip Alston, the UN’s expert on extreme poverty, who recently published a report pointing to “great misery” in the UK’s poorest areas as a result of austerity.
Newly appointed work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd dismissed his report as “extraordinarily political”.
But Mr Alston told the paper that Ms Rudd should make the welfare system “more humane” rather than criticise the language in his report.
David Bolt, the chief inspector of borders and immigration, has said that less than a quarter of state-run accommodation for asylum seekers in the UK is compliant with standards, the BBC reports.
Mr Bolt said homes were often damp, dirty and vermin-infested, but the Home Office said it is “committed to improving” the service.
Meanwhile, the Manchester Evening News reports that the Home Office has promised to review its approach to distributing asylum seeker housing, after Greater Manchester leaders said “disproportionate” levels in the area were causing “mounting chaos”.
Industry magazines Building and Property Week have both run pieces looking at last week’s housebuilding figures and what they mean.
Inside Housing listed five questions posed by the statistics last week.
Elsewhere, the Evening Standard reports on chilling footage played to the Grenfell Inquiry yesterday which shows the moment fire took hold of the tower’s cladding, Professional Pensions reports that the Co-op’s pension scheme is to invest up to £50m in social housing, and Glasgow’s Evening Times warns that billions may be needed to fix the city’s crumbling tenement blocks of flats.
And finally, the Manchester Evening News publishes a special report following volunteers and council officers as they count rough sleepers on the streets of Salford.
On social media
Paul Hackett, chief executive of Optivo and chair of the G15 group of major London housing associations, has voiced his thoughts on the no DSS controversy:
Another reason why insecure #PRS is an unsuitable default option for low income households. Commons Work & Pensions Committee right to challenge banks on what appears to be discriminatory practices. Answer = build more #SocialHousing #ukhousing t.co/gWccZWpYv6
— Paul Hackett (@PaulHackett10)Another reason why insecure #PRS is an unsuitable default option for low income households. Commons Work & Pensions Committee right to challenge banks on what appears to be discriminatory practices. Answer = build more #SocialHousing #ukhousing https://t.co/gWccZWpYv6
— Paul Hackett (@PaulHackett10) November 21, 2018
What’s on
- Prime Minister’s Questions will take place in the House of Commons at 12pm
- Professor Luke Bisby, whose report Inside Housing ran a story on yesterday, will give evidence to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry as an expert witness today
