Blair calls for action as homelessness hits 10-year high

Homelessness figures have hit a 10-year high in the same week that Tony Blair urged the ODPM to do more to combat social exclusion.

A report from the ODPM’s social exclusion unit has found that the number of homeless households in England is back up to its early 1990s level of more than 137,000. Households in temporary accommodation were found to be at a record 97,290.

ODPM figures for the past quarter published separately this week put this number even higher, at 99,380. They show a consistent rise since Labour came to power.

The unit’s figures are contained in Breaking the Cycle, a report analysing the government’s success in tackling social exclusion since 1997.

In a foreword to the report, Blair said: “We need to work still harder to ensure our public services make a difference for everyone; including those who are hardest to help. That is why I have asked the social exclusion unit to focus now on delivery issues.”

The unit is to focus on five priorities in the next year. One will be to find ways of improving services for people who move regularly, particularly those in temporary housing.

Diane Henderson, head of care and support at the National Housing Federation, welcomed the unit’s new focus. “Supporting People was supposed to contain a mechanism allowing people to cross council boundaries, but it has been spectacularly unsuccessful,” she said.

A spokeswoman for homelessness charity Shelter added: “We would question whether the government is tackling social exclusion when we’re seeing record numbers in temporary accommodation. Our own research shows temporary accommodation can have a devastating impact on health and education.”

The unit’s report also identified low educational attainment as a persistent driver of social exclusion.

Social exclusion minister Lord Rooker said: “We are not complacent. We fully recognise that there is more to do.”