The effect of council budget cuts on single homeless people
- 04 Jul
Freedom of Information Act requests reveal how single homeless people have been affected by council budget cuts.
Since the last election councils across England have slashed funding for single homeless people support services by over a quarter, reports Inside Housing.
Research using the Freedom of Information Act by Inside Housing found 77 local authorities cut a total of £34m from their housing-related support budgets for homeless individuals between 2010/11 and 2013/14 - a drop of 26 per cent.
Katharine Sacks-Jones, head of policy and campaigns at Crisis, warned single homeless individuals were being hit ‘disproportionately' with cuts to ‘vital' services at a time when rough sleeping rose by 5 per cent to 2,414 in England during 2013.
"Single homeless people don't do well most of the time [when it comes to state funding]," she said. "They are not a politically popular group."
Mark McPherson, a director for the umbrella body Homeless Link said the budgets cuts since 2010 meant many charities were having to "reduce their range of services, staffing and support levels".
"As a result, more services than ever report restricting access to people with high levels of need or perceived risk," he added.
Audrey Mitchell, director of client services at Home Group, said: "repeated cuts prevent us providing services to vulnerable people whose needs then become more extreme."
Support budgets for single homeless people are used to fund services for those who are not judged to be in ‘priority need'. These might include helping people secure accommodation or funding back-to-work projects.
A Newham spokesperson said: "The government's unfair budget cuts and welfare reforms are making [providing homelessness services] increasingly difficult."
What do you think of this? Tweet us your comments @suppsolutions
Image source: http://www.freeimages.com/photo/935765
Related articles
- 11 Sep
New service to support homeless people in Birmingham
A new dedicated Homeless Street Triage car will be responding to the rising number of calls reporting homelessness, begging and anti-social drinking in the city, reports 24dash.In the last year –...
- 09 Sep
Gym in Kent hopes to improve health and fitness of homeless people
Riverside is a specialist in working with single homeless people to help them get their lives back on track and into accommodation. Their new project, a gymnasium, has been funded by the Riverside...
- 08 Sep
The cost of homelessness in Hackney doubles
Figures have shown that the cost of homelessness in 2009/10 was £3,092,255 compared to £7,167,440 in 2014/15, with a cut on staff spending from £3,239,653 to £2,608,491 reports 24dash.Hackney...
- 04 Sep
Two homelessness services to be investigated
The Scottish Housing Regulator is set to investigate every aspect of services offered by Dumfries and Galloway Council, whilst also examining how homeless people access help and support at Scottish...
- 03 Sep
Homeless project for young people under threat due to cuts
Platform for Life was expected to attract interest from numerous housing associations with its scheme to convert properties into accommodation for young people in further education, training or work,...
- 01 Sep
Charities warns Irish government of homelessness crisis
Social Justice Ireland is calling for a new funding system that will meet the demand and reveal that only 20 council homes for families have been completed within the first three months of this year,...
- 26 Aug
Newspaper office to become a centre for homeless people
The old office for the Doncaster Free Press is being transformed into flats and other facilities for people who are homeless, reports Hold the Front Page. The building is being turned into...
- 20 Aug
Cuts leaving people in Cheltenham needing homelessness support
Bosses at CCP and Cheltenham Borough Council have said the “devastating impact” of benefit cuts in the town are causing issues for many people, report the Gloucestershire Echo.Over the past few...
- 19 Aug
Concern that homelessness in Cambridge is at ‘tipping point’
Not only do figures show a rise in quarterly numbers by 24 households, they also reveal that over 350 cases were placed in temporary accommodation over the last year, which was a rise of 50 cases on...
- 11 Aug
Charities say Wales is “setting an example” for homelessness
A joint report by Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has praised Welsh laws that are trying to address the issues of homelessness, reports the BBC.However they warn that the removal of...
The Welfare Reform Act: Universal Credit, Sheltered and Supported Housing The content was concise and to the point. The content was relevant to our service, and gave us a better us a better indication of were stand with upcoming changes. Rosie Kaur - Panahghar
