Many homeless people are ‘badly treated' by council staff and often sent away without receiving any meaningful support, a select committee has claimed.
A report by the Communities and Local Government Committee published today accused councils of sending away homeless people who are judged not to be in priority need without any meaningful guidance.
Single homeless people with a local connection, in particular, are often treated poorly, the committee suggested, with many of them receiving little more than a list of letting agents when they approach their council for advice.
The committee called for a government-wide strategy to tackle an increase in homelessness caused by the cost and availability of housing.
Committee members urged Whitehall to monitor councils, identify those not fulfilling their duties and review the statutory code of practice to ensure the levels of service that local authorities must provide are clear.
The committee's chair Clive Betts said: ‘The scale of homelessness is now such that a renewed government strategy is a must.
‘It needs to not only help those who are homeless but also prevent those vulnerable families and individuals who are at risk of becoming homeless from joining them.
‘Local authorities also have a big part to play.
‘The committee recognises they face a significant task with funding pressures and legal obligations, but vulnerable people are too often badly treated, being made to feel like they are at fault, and offered ineffectual and meaningless advice.
‘We want the Government to monitor local authorities and help them achieve best practice.'
Cllr Nick Forbes, senior vice chair at the Local Government Association, said: ‘Local government can succeed in reducing homelessness if given the funding and powers to bring together local housing, health, justice and employment partners to address the gaps between household incomes and spiralling rents, and to resume their historic role as a major builder of affordable homes.
‘Faced with increasing demand, reducing budgets, falling social housing and wide-ranging welfare reforms, it is clear that councils cannot tackle this challenge alone.
‘The extension of legal duties on councils, as supported by the committee, would need to be accompanied by sufficient powers and funding from the Government, as part of a coherent national strategy.
‘Without this, councils will continue to find it difficult to deliver on our ambitions to end homelessness.'
