As the economy continues to recover and as George Osborne declares that Britain is “on the mend”, it will become even more important to remember those left behind. Today’s Joseph Rowntree Foundation/Crisis report reminds us of one of the most worrying trends of recent years, that of rising homelessness. The study found that the number sleeping rough rose again last year by 6% in England and by 13% in London. Over the same period, the number in temporary accommodation increased by 10%, with a 14% rise in B&B placements. In total, homelessness has increased by 34% in the last three years (having fallen in the previous six), with 185,000 now affected in England.
While emphasising the long-term structural problem of the mismatch between housing demand and supply (the subject of my interview with Sadiq Khan this week), the report also makes it clear that the coalition’s benefit cuts have made the situation worse. It states: “welfare benefit cuts, as well as constraints on housing access and supply, are critical to overall levels of homelessness.” In London, in particular, the introduction of the £20,000 housing benefit cap, and the £26,000 total benefit cap, has made it “more difficult to secure new private tenancies for those on low incomes.”
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