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Homelessness in England has soared by 11% in only three months, figures released by the government reveal.
Over 74,000 households in England became homeless or were deemed at imminent risk of becoming homeless between January and March 2022. This included 25,610 families with children.
According to Shelter, the homelessness charity, the figures show an 11% rise in only three months, and a 5% rise on the same period in 2021.
The figures reveal the number of households that were struggling to keep a roof over their heads even before the impact of soaring bills, which are expected to put more families into debt.
The government’s latest homelessness data also revealed that, despite being in full-time work, 10,560 households were found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness. This is the highest number of people in full-time work recorded as homeless since the government started recording this data in 2018.
Shelter is calling on the government to intervene to prevent a steep rise in homelessness as renters struggle with the highest private rents on record, alongside rocketing household bills.
“Too many people are losing the battle to keep a roof over their heads – struggling to pay rent and put food in their mouths. With homelessness on the rise, whoever becomes the next prime minister needs to get a grip on this crisis, and fast,” said Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter.
“The housing emergency was already tipping thousands of people into homelessness before the cost-of-living crisis took hold. Now record-high rents, and crippling food and fuel bills risk sending even more people over the edge – including people who are working every hour they can. Our front-line services hear from families every day who’ve got nothing left to cut back on.”
The 2,998 individuals reported as sleeping rough in London represented an increase of 16% on the previous three months and a 23% increase on the same period in 2021.
St Mungo’s has described the increase in the number of people sleeping rough in London as “concerning, but not surprising”.
“Our expert teams are out every day, morning and night, across London and we have seen the numbers of people on the streets creeping up,” said Petra Salva, the director of rough sleeping at the homelessness charity.
“The end of the increased accommodation support measures provided during the pandemic, and the effect of the cost-of-living crisis, are clear to see.”