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Sharp rise in homeless

It seems that the government's addition to the Homes Bill of a number of measures aimed at improving the lot of those people unfortunate enough to find themselves with no place to go at the end of an evening, is not without good reason. Government figures released today indicate a sharp jump in the number of homeless people living in this country, with the recorded number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by local authorities jumping an alarming 9% in the third quarter of this year.

The figures represent the number of people that apply for temporary, emergency or permanent accommodation, due to the fact that for one reason or another have found themselves homeless. This means that the numbers should by no means be taken to represent the true number of homeless people in this country. A large number of homeless people do not apply for accommodation through choice, ignorance or a variety of other possible reasons.

A third of those who did seek accommodation found themselves homeless after being turfed out by friends or relatives no longer willing or able to accommodate them, whilst a quarter of the total number represent those people made homeless by the breakup of a relationship. Two thirds of such cases involved violence in the breakdown of the relationship. Sixty percent of the households who applied for emergency accommodation contained children.

Housing Minister Nick Raynsford said, "The Homes Bill will place a stronger duty on local housing authorities to provide a safety net for people who are homeless through no fault of their own and will extend the safety net to other vulnerable groups."