Speaking in a parliamentary debate on social housing Hayes and Harlington MP John McDonnell told MPs that families are coming to his regular surgery "with their children at their ankles, in tears and desperate for a roof over their heads".
He said the borough now has 900 homeless families and 7,600 families on social housing waiting lists.
On average it takes between seven to 10 years before they can secure a council home or social housing placement, he told MPs.
He was specifically critical of the London Borough of Hillingdon’s housing policies, such as using local estate agents to gain private sector rental accommodation for families. "We have discovered that the estate agents it has been using have often used these buy-to-let slum landlords," he said.
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