Richer boroughs ‘use east London to dump homeless families’

Moving east: Richer councils are looking eastwards for places to 'dump' homeless families
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Deprived London boroughs are being used as a “dumping ground” for homeless families by councils in more affluent areas of the capital, a charity claimed today.

As new figures showed east London boroughs have seen a spike in the number of homeless they have received from other councils, poverty campaigners Z2K said the practice tore families from their communities and put pressure on already creaking services in poorer boroughs.

The group attacked government plans to reduce the benefit cap and called for more investment in temporary housing.

The figures obtained by Inside Housing show east London boroughs received 5,017 such households from other councils in 2014-15, a rise of 65 per cent in two years.

Meanwhile west London boroughs reported a 25 per cent increase from other councils over the same period.

The rise is creating more competition for accommodation in east London, driving up prices and leading councils there to place more people outside the capital. Z2K’s chief executive Joanna Kennedy said: “These figures suggest that several boroughs are continuing to use east London as a dumping ground for homeless families and vulnerable single people.

“As well as undermining family and support networks these families depend upon, this approach is simply making it even harder for east London boroughs to accommodate their own homeless households in-borough.”

Figures released by London Councils, which represents the boroughs, show 1,653 families were moved outside the capital in 2014/15 compared to 1,292 in 2013/14 and just 637 in 2012/13.

A spokesman from the Department for Communities and Local Government said: “Councils have a clear responsibility to house families in suitable homes as soon as possible and to take account of the impact any change in location would have.”

He said the Government had put up £500 million in discretionary housing payments, changed rules to offer accommodation in the private sector and delivered more council homes since 2010 than in the previous 13 years.

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