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Renters' union slams 'abject failure' of government as child homelessness hits record high

RENTERS' union ACORN hit out at the “abject failure of successive governments” to tackle Britain's housing crisis yesterday after the number of homeless children spiralled to a new record high this summer.

Statistics released yesterday by the Local Government Association (LGA) show that the number of homeless children had risen to 123,000.

Almost 80,000 families in England were in temporary accommodation throughout the first quarter of 2018 — the highest figure in a decade — while the number of children affected by homelessness has risen 76 per cent since 2011.

The LGA warned that the matter is an urgent one for local councils and called on the government to ease restrictions on councils’ ability to borrow, spend and build so they could address localised issues.

“For too many families, [the summer holiday] has been miserable, living in inappropriate conditions as they experience the sharp end of our national housing shortage,” LGA housing spokeswoman Judith Blake said.

“Councils are currently housing almost 123,000 children experiencing homelessness, which not only has a hugely negative impact on their young lives but creates an unsustainable position for local councils, as they experience spiralling housing costs without the tools and resources to deliver the homes their residents need.”

Ministers should go “much further, much faster” than the Tories’ Rough Sleeping Strategy envisions, she said. The strategy, which the government claims will end rough sleeping by 2027, includes the Homelessness Reduction Act requiring councils to provide temporary accommodation.

Nick Ballard from the ACORN renters’ union told the Star: “These figures show the abject failure of successive governments to take seriously that most fundamental of human rights — the right to proper shelter.

“Eviction from a private tenancy has been the leading cause of homelessness for years now and for all its fine talk this government has done nothing to address this and instead tries to palm off its responsibility on local authorities.

“The homelessness epidemic that sees tens of thousands in temporary accommodation and tent cities springing up is a clear result of housing legislation that has decimated council housing and pushed tenants into the private sector where they can be evicted at the whim of price gouging landlords.

“Any government must provide the following: an end to ‘no fault’ Section 21 evictions, the reintroduction of rent controls and a mass programme of council house building.

“Anything less is unacceptable.”

A government spokesman said: “All children deserve a safe and decent place to live and we are providing more than £1.2 billion so those who are homeless get the support they need.

“Councils have a duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation to those who need it, and families with children get priority.”

It has been estimated that approximately one in every 200 people in Britain are currently homeless, with around 307,000 people sleeping rough or in housing deemed inadequate for human habitation.

As of 2018, the homeless charity Crisis believes that over 9,000 people sleep on the streets or on public transport — an increase of 57 per cent since 2011.

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