One in three councils took children into care due to homelessness
One in three councils took a child into care in 2014/15 where a central reason for the decision was the family’s homelessness, an Inside Housing investigation has revealed.
Freedom of Information Act responses from 106 councils reveal families are still being separated because of homelessness 50 years after the film Cathy Come Home was first screened. The film sees a mother lose her children after becoming homeless.
Inside Housing’s investigation found that 35 of the 106 councils to respond had taken a child into care at least once in 2014/15 (the most recent year for which figures about looked after children were available) where a central reason was the family becoming homeless. This represented about 200 instances in total.
The findings follow a Supreme Court case last year which placed new legal requirements on councils when placing homeless families outside their boundary.
In that case, Titina Nzolameso had her children taken into care after she rejected an offer from Westminster Council to house her family in Milton Keynes.
Jayesh Kunwardia, partner at law firm Hodge, Jones & Allen and who represented Ms Nzolameso, warned that councils need to consider their obligations carefully under the Children’s Act. He said he was surprised by Inside Housing’s findings because based on his experience “I would think it would be a lot higher”.
Giles Peaker, partner at Anthony Gold Solicitors, said that case law should compel councils to help families stay together “unless there is a good reason to separate them”.
Inside Housing’s Cathy At 50 campaign seeks to highlight the issue of modern-day homelessness, fifty years on from the iconic film. It is calling for councils to adopt a ‘Housing First’ approach to help eliminate rough sleeping and homelessness.
