WIREDGOV

Cllr Martin Tett, the Local Government Association’s Housing spokesman, responded to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Crisis Homelessness Monitor

“Behind every instance of homelessness lies an individual tragedy and local authorities are determined to prevent it from happening and support homeless people in their communities into accommodation as quickly and as effectively as possible. 

“Local authorities are currently housing more than 77,000 homeless families with in excess of 120,000 homeless children in temporary accommodation. Whilst they are doing all they can to help families facing homelessness it’s essential that the new Homelessness Reduction Act duties on councils are fully funded.

“It’s vital we move towards tackling our collective ambition to end homelessness outright. We need the full range of public bodies to cooperate with councils in addressing homelessness. It is also essential that all councils are able to borrow to build new homes and adapt welfare reforms to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place.”