Record number of homeless
Between July and September, 68,560 families and other households were housed in temporary accommodation – the highest number since 2008. In the same three-month period, councils in England accepted 14,670 new applications for statutory homelessness – more than at any time since 2008. Experts said the Government’s failure to ensure housing benefits keep up with soaring private rental prices was the main factor behind the increase. The Chartered Institute of Housing says a four-year freeze on housing benefits could create more homeless families. The new figures, released by the DCLG, prompted the Government to outline what it called a “radical” package of measures to combat homelessness, including the protection of homelessness prevention budgets for local authorities and a £5m fund for the 25 council areas facing the greatest accommodation pressures.