More affluent London boroughs place higher percentage of homeless residents in temporary accommodation outside their boundaries: report

More affluent London boroughs such as Bromley, Richmond upon Thames and Merton routinely place more than 75% of their residents in temporary accommodation outside their boroughs, according to a report by Citizens UK and Trust for London.

The report, A long way from home: improving the experiences of people in temporary accommodation, revealed that Brent and Barking & Dagenham, which are in the top quintile for disadvantage, placed just 6% of their households outside their boundaries.

The report said: “Where households are being placed raises questions of equality and equity and the concentration of placements can add further pressure on local housing markets.

“More affluent boroughs are increasingly placing homeless families into more deprived areas, isolating families from their communities and placing additional strain on already under-resourced areas.”

The report meanwhile claimed that thousands of families across the UK are “trapped in a broken system”.

It found that some children are spending their whole childhoods in temporary accommodation, highlighting a case where one family with children in Croydon had been living in temporary accommodation since 1998.

In another case a 97-year-old man in Brent has been living in temporary accommodation for three years.

The report suggested that families in temporary accommodation are struggling to access basic necessities, such as washing facilities to wash and dry clothes.

In many cases in which a provider leases their washing machines, there is a charge which can total up to £900 per year on laundry costs passed on to the residents.

Citizens UK has called on the Government to take immediate action to improve temporary accommodation, including access to five standards to ensure people in temporary accommodation can live with dignity: cooking facilities, information, WiFi, laundry and storage.

The report includes recommendations in relation to data collection and sharing, including that the government should collect and publish more information, including the age of each individual in temporary accommodation and where out-of-area placements are sent by authority.

“This will better inform local authorities, so will have a complete picture of who is being sent where and encourage more evidence-based action,” it said.

The report also recommends that GP surgeries and schools are alerted by local authorities when their patients and pupils are placed in temporary accommodation. This is to encourage increased collaboration between local authorities and their support services “so people in temporary accommodation are not forgotten”.

It added that the NHS should record when it engages with people in temporary accommodation, to better help practitioners and policy-makers to understand the health implications.

Other recommendations in the report cover public service reform, such as a new nationwide protocol to govern when households are placed in accommodation outside their area, and more accountability measures, such as on local authority performance.

Harry Rodd

Local Government Lawyer and Devonshires are conducting a short survey into some of the underlying issues impeding the provision of temporary housing and we would be very grateful if you could take part. Your answers will remain anonymous and will only be published in aggregated form.

To take part, please follow the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/temporaryaccom