Home Truths: Council Report Reveals Rise in Homelessness

The number of people in Wigan claiming to be homeless is at its highest level for more than a decade, according to new figures.

Council housing staff received over 3000 requests for help in the past 12 months — a 65% rise in five years. In more than a third of cases, the council had a legal duty to provide housing.

The last time similar levels were experienced was in 1992, when the borough had 10,000 more council homes than it does today.

However the rate of increase is starting to slow down as a series of new initiatives start to have an impact, according to housing chiefs.

The figures are contained in a new report by Wigan Council’s community protection director Bob Saunders, who chairs the borough’s multi–agency homelessness forum.

Mr Saunders said the main cause of the historically high levels was a breakdown in family relationships, which accounts for more than half all homelessness claims. Loss of privately rented accommodation was the second most common reason.

The number of people claiming to be sleeping out on the streets almost doubled, from 22 in 2002/3 to 41 in 2003/4. The council is also being forced to use bed and breakfast accommodation for the first time, albeit at nothing like the level of the bigger cities.

Single parents account for the biggest single increase in homeless applications, and this is thought to be largely due to the soaring cost of buying a house. Wigan was named as a property hotspot in a national newspaper recently.

Mr Saunders said:

“As house prices have risen significantly in recent years, single income families find it more difficult to access affordable accommodation and are therefore more likely to ask the Council for assistance.”

However it’s not all bad news. Mr Saunders said there was room for cautious optimism that the borough would be able to offer more help to the homeless in the coming months.

• The number of properties needed to house asylum seekers has dropped in the past year, and some of those originally identified as part of the council’s contract with the national asylum service are now available to house single homeless people.
• Discussions with a number of local private landlords are likely to release more emergency accommodation of a high quality
• A review of the way council homes are allocated is likely to lead to greater priority being given to people with the most pressing needs.
• Specialist housing aid teams have now been set up and are responsible for assessing all homeless applications in the Borough.

Mr Saunders said:

“A multi–agency approach is adopted to homelessness with significant contributions made by a range of agencies through the Wigan Homelessness Forum. We’re making progress though there’s still some way to go.

“While the big rise in house prices locally may be a sign of economic strength, it has certainly had an impact on young people looking to enter the housing market.

“However the main reason for homelessness remains as it has for some years — a breakdown in relationships which leads to people leaving their existing homes.

“We recognise the scale of the problem, and while the figures are still too high I am cautiously optimistic that the rate of increase may be slowing down. All the agencies are working together to tackle the problem.”

Note to Editors

Further information: Bob Saunders, (01942) 827094.