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Public bodies given legal duty to assess homeless risk

PRISONS, probation services, jobcentres and NHS trusts are among the public bodies that will soon have a legal duty to refer people at risk of becoming homeless to a housing authority.

Homelessness Minister Heather Wheeler announced the new guidelines yesterday before the Homelessness Reduction Act is expected to be passed into law this April.

The Act places legal duties on English councils to prevent homelessness.

Ms Wheeler claimed that the government is investing almost £1 billion over the next four years to “break the homelessness cycle.”

Southwark Council, which has piloted some of the measures in the Act, states that homelessness in the central and south London area is mainly down to welfare cuts and the housing market.

Ms Wheeler tweeted last week in response to the death of a man who was sleeping rough in an underpass of Westminster Underground station: “Stories like this push me on to find solutions and work to eradicate rough sleeping for good.”

However, her voting history shows that she voted for the bedroom tax, phasing out secure lifetime council tenancies, and reduced spending on welfare, while voting against higher benefits for people unable to work because of disability and illness.

 

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