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Morning Briefing: rough sleeping ‘more comfortable than army exercises’, says MP

Rough sleeping is “a lot more comfortable” than military exercises, a Conservative MP and former army officer has said.

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Picture: Getty
Picture: Getty
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Morning Briefing: rough sleeping ‘more comfortable than army exercises’, says MP #ukhousing

In the news

Adam Holloway, MP for Gravesham, made the comments during a Westminster Hall debate on tackling street homelessness yesterday afternoon, which he led.

He also said that a rise in street homelessness was driven by immigration from Eastern Europe as many migrants preferred to sleep rough than pay for accommodation. The Guardian covers the full story.

Mr Holloway’s comments come as the Huff Post reports on a Justlife Foundation study which warns the “hidden homelessness” problem could be 10 times worse than government figures suggest.

The charity estimates there were around 51,500 households living in B&Bs in England in 2015/16, while official statistics counted just 5,870. It said the discrepancy results from government figures only record people living in “official” homeless accommodation.

Mr Holloway was not the only Tory MP making bold statements about housing yesterday.

Huw Merriman, who represents Bexhill and Battle, said in a Commons debate last night that foreign companies should be banned from large investment in UK property, according to City AM.

He said the “radical step” was needed to tackle the number of empty homes in London.

Meanwhile, Suzanne Fitzpatrick, a co-author of the 2018 Homelessness Monitor report, has written a piece in The Guardian arguing that even social housing is now unaffordable in some parts of England.

It matches up neatly with an article in City Metric from Generation Rent researcher David Adler, which calls for all factions to agree on the need for more social housing supply.

On social media

The Tai 2018 conference is continuing to generate a buzz on Twitter as it starts its second day:

 

 

 

What’s on

  • Prime Minister’s Questions will take place in the House of Commons at 12pm
  • It’s the second day of Tai 2018, the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru’s annual conference
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