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One in 25 people homeless in worst-affected areas, Shelter warns
The number of homeless people in Britain has hit 307,000, analysis by Shelter has claimed.
The housing and homelessness charity combined official rough sleeping, temporary accommodation and social services figures obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request which showed that the number of homeless people in Britain has increased by 13,000 in a year.
The charity estimated that one in 200 people is now homeless, rising to one in 25 in the worst-affected areas.
The charity said the true figure is likely to be higher because government records are “not definitive”.
The London Borough of Newham had the highest number of homeless people, with 13,607 people living in temporary accommodation, sleeping rough, or defined as homeless by the council. London boroughs took up the top 13 spots for the most number of homeless people in the country.
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In Scotland last year there were 28,297 households assessed as homeless and at any one time there were 10,873 households in temporary accommodation. It is estimated that 5,000 people sleep rough on Scotland’s streets throughout the year.
In England, more than a third of those living in temporary accommodation will still be homeless in a year’s time, Shelter said.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “It’s shocking to think that today, more than 300,000 people in Britain are waking up homeless. Some will have spent the night shivering on a cold pavement, others crammed into a dingy hostel room with their children. And what is worse, many are simply unaccounted for.
“On a daily basis, we speak to hundreds of people and families who are desperately trying to escape the devastating trap of homelessness. A trap that is tightening thanks to decades of failure to build enough affordable homes and the impact of welfare cuts.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: “We are determined to tackle all forms of homelessness, which includes making sure people in temporary accommodation are getting support to keep a roof over their heads.
“We’re investing £950m by 2020 to support these efforts, and bringing in the Homelessness Reduction Act. This requires councils to provide early support to people at risk of being left without anywhere to go.
“In 2011 we gave councils the power to place families in decent and affordable private rented homes so they can move into settled accommodation more quickly. We have also recently announced a £2bn funding boost to build more social housing, including council homes.”
