Mayor of Greater Manchester, , has challenged the main party
leaders to commit to taking immediate steps to tackle the
homelessness crisis and save lives this winter.
Last year, an estimated 726 homeless people died in
England and Wales, many of whom will have slept rough on
our streets. This represents a 22% increase on the figure for
2017. The average age of those who died was 45 for men and 43 for
women.
In a letter to party leaders, the Mayor has outlined a number of
actions which could make a real difference in addressing the
humanitarian crisis across the country. These include:
- End the freeze on the Local Housing Allowance with immediate
effect once the new Prime Minister takes office, to ensure it
keeps pace with the increase in local rents
- End no-fault evictions and announce this in the first Queen’s
Speech
- Abolish the no recourse to public funds policy
- Provide emergency funding to operate Greater
Manchester’s A Bed
Every Night scheme across all of England this winter
and into 2020
The Mayor said: “More than 700 homeless people died last year but
this human tragedy has not had the attention it deserves in the
General Election campaign.
“In this day and age British people should not be dying on our
streets for want of a roof over their heads. So today, I have
written to party leaders about immediate steps a new Prime
Minister and government should take to save lives this winter.
“Thousands are volunteering their time to help homeless people
and before casting their votes people need to know that the party
leaders will take action to tackle homelessness and rough
sleeping.
“Here in Greater Manchester we have made great progress in
reducing the numbers of people sleeping rough on our streets but
much more needs to be done at national level.
“Homelessness shames our society and our duty to care for all
citizens. We need a government that will listen to what is needed
and deliver on commitments to end rough sleeping.”
National homelessness charity Shelter estimated earlier this year
that rates of rough sleeping across England and Wales have
increased 165% since
2010. However, Greater Manchester has bucked the trend
with the number of people sleeping rough declining
for two
successive winters, following eight previous years of
increases.
Additionally, the latest evidence shows that the challenge of
securing temporary accommodation for homeless people is costing
local authorities dear. Shelter’s report earlier this week
demonstrated that councils spent more than £1bn on temporary
accommodation last
year, an increase of almost 80% in five years.
The Greater Manchester A Bed Every Night scheme has helped over
2,650 people from a life on the streets into emergency
accommodation since its launch 12 months ago. Nearly 950
individuals have since found a longer-term housing solution
within Greater Manchester as they continue their journeys away
from homelessness.
The charity Crisis estimates that it costs the public purse over
£20,000 a year per person if people sleep rough. This is because
they will visit A&E, spend time in hospital or mental health
crisis care, police custody or the criminal justice system. The
estimated cost of A Bed Every Night per person per year is
roughly £12,000. If Government provided emergency funding to run
A Bed Every Night in England it would save lives, save money and
ease pressure on public services.
The letter can be viewed
here.
