Damning report shows homelessness will rocket due to Tory housing policy

A report released today shows that councils fear that the Conservative housing bill will see a sell off of homes that will not be replaced and a rocketing of homelessness in communities across Britain.

The survey of local authorities, treated as a snapshot by the LGA laid out their concerns starkly.

The key statistics from this survey are:

• 78% said there would be an increase in homelessness
• 90% of councils surveyed said their number of council homes would decrease
• 74% said the homes sold under the Right to Buy scheme would not be replaced

The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to think again and take advantage of the remaining stages of the Housing Bill to change the law to help families in housing need.

It was also announced in the last summer budget that councils with housing stock and other social rented housing provided by registered providers would be forced to make a compulsory 1% reduction in rent for tenants.

This reduction in rent is anticipated to last for four years, and will seriously reduce funds available to local councils which could be spent on building new houses and improving builds they currently own. 82% of the councils surveyed said they will have to reduce their budgets to regenerate estates.

While the exact reduction in funds and loss of council homes for Norwich City Council cannot be specified, it is very clear that the Tories seem intent on destroying social housing across the nation, and the disastrous fallout from these policies will certainly be felt by those in Norwich who are most in need.

Commenting on the results of the council survey which was initiated by Liberal Democrats within the LGA, Cllr James Wright, Leader of the Lib Dem Group at City Hall said, "With the changes that are being imposed, there is no doubt that local councils will struggle to provide sufficient homes for those families who need them most.

"Due to Tory policy, Norwich City Council recently estimated that over the next five years, only 162 new council homes will be able to be built. This is not at all sufficient.

"With the number of homeless people in Norfolk soaring in recent years from 477 in 2012-13 to 574 in 2013-14, at the most extreme level, this Tory policy will have disastrous consequences in raising this number yet again for the foreseeable future."