Today (27 January), new government
data shows that in England in the last financial year at least
£1.4bn was spent housing people in temporary accommodation,
including rooms in B&Bs and hotels.
Separate government data, also
released today, shows that between July-September 2021 96,060
households in England were being housed in temporary
accommodation.
The number of people facing
homelessness after receiving a Section 21 notice has continued to
increase, with a 33% rise on the previous quarter. This follows
the end of the ban on bailiff enforced evictions on 31 May
2021.
Matt Downie, Chief Executive at Crisis, said:
“Over a billion pounds has been
spent in one year to extend people’s homelessness rather than end
it. That is a false economy with a devastating human cost.
“It is near impossible for anyone to
rebuild their lives when they are cramped into one room,
sometimes miles away from their support networks and often with
no facilities to wash their clothes or cook their own
meals.
“The soaring costs of food and energy
are now pushing even more households to the brink. To help
prevent untold numbers of families being forced into poverty and
homelessness, we urge the UK government to get serious on
providing the genuinely affordable homes we need and unfreeze
housing benefit to cover the true cost of renting.”
-Ends-
Notes to editors
Local authority revenue
expenditure and financing England: 2020 to 2021 individual local
authority data - outturn
Statutory homelessness in
England: July to September 2021
