THE number of ill and disabled people becoming homeless has surged by 53 per cent as local councils are increasingly unable to provide them with support, new figures show.
According to government data, councils across the UK reported a 14 per cent rise in households which have at least one resident classed as suffering physical ill health or disability presenting as homeless – from 8,370 between April and June 2018 to 9,510 in the same period of this year.
And the number of sick and disabled people whose local council have been unable to help prevent or relieve their homelessness under the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA) – and which are now are classed as priority need for housing – has surged from 580 to 890.
The HRA was implemented in April 2018 and placed new duties on housing authorities to intervene earlier to prevent or relieve homelessness.
But campaigners said councils were too often unable to fulfil this duty due to a lack of resources, as well as benefit changes, rent increases and the nationwide shortage of social housing.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, called for an increase in council funding to support vulnerable homeless people, saying: “This steep increase shows not only the scale of people requiring help, but the challenges that people already face, on top of having no place to call home… But councils have to be given the resources and ability to exercise this to its full potential and we need to see transformative measures taken…”
