LGA responds to National Audit Office report on homelessness

“Homelessness is a tragedy, as a settled home is crucial to health and wellbeing for individuals and families, and is a central cornerstone of successful communities.

“Rising homelessness is a huge challenge for councils, which are having to house the equivalent of an extra secondary school’s worth of homeless children in temporary accommodation every month. The net cost to councils of doing this has tripled in the last three years, as they plug the gap between rising rents and frozen housing benefit.

“Councils are working hard to tackle homelessness and are focusing on preventing it happening. We now need the Government to support this local effort, by allowing councils to invest in building genuinely affordable homes and providing the support and resources they need to help prevent people becoming homeless in the first place.”