Homeless Westminster families to be offered one-bedroom accommodation
Joe Lepper
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Westminster council is under fire again following attempts to reduce the number of homeless families living in temporary accommodation in the area by downgrading its housing offer to parents of young children.
The council has decided to reduce its minimum offer of accommodation to families with a child under the age of three from a two-bedroom to a one-bedroom home.
The change, affecting both single parents and couples, is designed to cut the number of families living in temporary accommodation.
Families that refuse the offer of a one-bedroom home will lose their right to be housed by the council.
According to official figures, there are currently 1,964 households living in temporary accommodation in Westminster, up from 1,749 last year. ?Of these 95 have been in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks, a rate that prompted criticism from then housing minister Grant Shapps in April.
Westminster’s Labour group said that 110 of the families currently living in temporary accommodation have a child under the age of three.
Labour group leader Paul Dimoldenberg, said: “This latest emergency change to the council’s allocation rules shows the depth of the worsening housing crisis. “Now the homeless are to be treated like second class citizens by Westminster and families will be crowded in to a one bedroom flat because of the shortage of homes to rent.”
He called on the council to work with private homeowners to make use of around 4,500 empty homes in Westminster to house families “as quickly as possible and end the misery that too many families are having to suffer.”
A Child Poverty Action Group spokesman also criticised the move, arguing “the most vulnerable families in society are having to pay the cost for successive government failures to address the housing crisis.”
But Jonathan Glanz, Westminster’s lead member for housing and property, said: “This change increases the housing options available to the council and will help reduce the numbers of households in bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation.
“The homes which are being offered are self-contained and provide a better alternative to B&B's. It is the sort of accommodation that many couples with a young baby or toddler live in, while paying their way without any subsidy in the private sector.”
Other measures taken by Westminster to reduce its homeless population include offering families accommodation outside of London in Essex, Kent, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
