LibDems Slash Number of Homeless Families in B&B Accommodation (Milton Keynes Liberal Democrats)

Milton Keynes Liberal Democrats <info@mk-libdems.co.uk>

LibDems Slash Number of Homeless Families in B&B Accommodation

February 14, 2004 6:00 PM

NATIONAL praise has been heaped on a new Lib Dem drive in Milton Keynes to make sure that NO homeless families from MK are housed in Bed & Breakfast accommodation.

Since 31st January the council has had no families in B & Bs - and there is just one single person waiting to be re-housed from a B&B hotel. This contrasts sharply with the figure of 57 households on average a month staying in B&B's between April 2003 and October 2003.

The council has cracked the problem three months ahead of Government deadline - and a message of congratulations has been sent from Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's office.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Irene Henderson, Cabinet member responsible for Housing, said: "I've been very unhappy about using Bed and Breakfasts for accommodation before and we've only ever used it as a last resort. "

"This new initiative shows new and more focused ways of working. It is better for those homeless families themselves, giving them more settled surroundings instead of being shunted from one Bed and Breakfast to another. "

In its drive to provide adequate and less expensive accommodation to applicants, the council received £171,000 from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to support a range of initiatives, including:

Bringing 31 empty flats back into use to house homeless families. This was done in partnership with English Partnerships and Midsummer Housing Association;
Using a rent deposit guarantee scheme to find 11 private rented properties for homeless households;
Expanding the number of properties leased by the private sector to Midsummer Housing Association from 40 to 60
Appointing 2 Homelessness Visiting Officers who will visit people threatened with homelessness, to prevent them becoming homeless in the first place.

" This is excellent news for homeless households. I am delighted that the council took these bold steps. Long term stay in B&Bs have unacceptable effects for individual households as well as society as a whole." added Hazel Taylor Chair of the Housing Forum.