0:01 AM, 25th October 2024, About 4 weeks ago
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London councils are spending £4 million EVERY DAY on housing people in temporary accommodation.
A report by the London Councils group warns homelessness in the capital is at record levels and that the current situation is “utterly unsustainable”.
The report titled London’s Homelessness Emergency calls for a permanent increase in Local Housing Allowance rates to address the homelessness crisis.
According to the report, spending on temporary accommodation has jumped by 68% in just one year.
The report also reveals over the past two years, there has been a 662% increase in families placed by London boroughs in B&Bs.
The report says more than 183,000 Londoners are estimated to be homeless and living in temporary accommodation arranged by their local borough. This is the highest-ever level of recorded homelessness in the capital – equivalent to at least one in 50 Londoners.
The number of Londoners in temporary accommodation includes almost 90,000 children. London Councils estimates this is equivalent to one out of every 21 children living in the capital and means on average there is at least one homeless child in every London classroom.
Cllr Grace Williams, London Councils’ executive member for housing and regeneration, said: “The homelessness situation in the capital is nothing less than an emergency. London is the epicentre of a national crisis – we are grappling with the most severe housing and homelessness pressures in the country.
“Homelessness is an injustice and has a devastating impact on individuals and families, undermining Londoners’ health, wellbeing, and opportunities. As these figures show, it also brings utterly unsustainable costs to councils. Without urgent action, homelessness pressures will break London boroughs’ budgets.”
She adds: “We welcome the government’s commitment to tackling homelessness and to building the affordable housing our communities need.
“Boroughs are relying on the upcoming Budget to bring renewed support for local homelessness services and policies to reduce homelessness as quickly as possible.”
The report is pushing for urgent action to tackle homelessness, with London Councils calling for the Homelessness Prevention Grant to be doubled.
The report says: “Local authorities play a vital role in supporting struggling households to avoid homelessness. Councils require an emergency funding increase to ensure local services have the resources needed in the face of rising levels of demand for support.
The current level of overspend on borough budgets suggests a doubling of Homelessness Prevention Grant funding is necessary. London boroughs received £157m from the government through this grant in 2024-25.”
The report also calls for the increase in Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to be made permanent, with regular updates to match market rents. The London Councils group says only 5% of London’s rental listings are affordable for people relying on LHA.
The group also urges the government to remove the January 2011 cap on Local Housing Allowance payable for temporary accommodation in Housing Benefit subsidy. This is the amount of money local authorities can claim from the government for their temporary accommodation costs.
The group says: “Currently the subsidy has been frozen at 2011 rates – even though temporary accommodation has become significantly more expensive over the past 13 years.
“London Councils’ data from 24 boroughs shows a gap of more than £96m in 2023-24 between the cost of providing temporary accommodation and what councils can recover from government through the housing benefit subsidy for temporary accommodation.
“The ‘subsidy gap’ is a priority concern for London boroughs, especially as they increasingly rely on relatively high-cost temporary accommodation options in B&Bs and commercial hotels. Lifting the cap would better reimburse boroughs for their temporary accommodation costs.”
