"Homelessness is a political scandal caused by nine years of Tory Government austerity." Cllr Diarmaid Ward, Executive Member for Housing and Development
To mark World Homeless Day, Islington Labour’s lead member for tackling the housing crisis, Cllr Diarmaid Ward, has declared that, “homelessness is a political scandal caused by nine years of Tory Government austerity.”
Tory austerity has hit public services – including local councils, social security and vital support that people rely on – leading to substantial increases in the number of homeless people across the country.
The previous Labour Government significantly reduced rough sleeping, but under the Tory Government, rough sleeping has increased by 165% since 2010 across England, and by approximately 8% in Islington since 2013/14. Islington has the 33rd highest ratio of homeless people of any borough in the country.
However, under Islington Labour’s leadership, the Council is committed to reducing homelessness and ending rough sleeping across the borough.
We are piloting a pioneering ‘Housing First’ programme which focuses on ensuring every person in our borough has access to a safe and secure home, giving the most vulnerable people in society an unconditional roof over their heads, rather than as a reward for engaging with services or on the premise that they then do so.
In 2017/18, Islington Council successfully prevented 514 households from becoming homeless by providing rental deposits to those who need them, negotiating with private sector landlords on behalf of tenants, and providing advice and employment support for those with housing concerns. We are also investing in extra support for homeless people through the Council’s outreach team, buying temporary accommodation to improve standards, and building more council homes – prioritised for local people.
For example, in the planning process for the Holloway Prison site, which will create approximately 1,000 new homes, the Islington Labour-run Council has insisted on at least 50% of the new homes being genuinely affordable, with at least 70% of those homes being made available for social rent.
Under Islington Labour’s leadership, the Council is delivering the largest new council home building programme in the borough for over 30 years. Between 2018 and 2022, the Council will build a further 550 new council homes, as part of delivering 1,900 new genuinely affordable homes.
Between 2010/11 and 2017/18, Islington Council has delivered more than 2,300 new genuinely affordable homes in the borough, including more than 1,500 homes for social rent.
On Sunday (13th October), Executive Member for Housing and Development, Cllr Diarmaid Ward will be joined by partners such as the Museum of Homelessness and Street Kitchen at Union Chapel to an event highlighting all of the great work being done by local organisations in tackling homelessness and promoting all of the ways that local residents can get involved.
Cllr Ward said:
“This event will showcase the best of Islington and bring together people from across our borough to tackle the scourge of homelessness.
“Homelessness is a political scandal caused by nine years of Tory Government austerity.
“Cuts to local councils’ funding, the housing benefit cap, no commitment to helping us build new council homes, and a failure to regulate London’s cowboy private-rented sector have all played their part.
“But we are fighting back, and this event is just the start.”
World Homelessness Week will be marked by a “shock to the system” event at Union Chapel, Compton Terrace from 3pm to 6.30pm on Sunday 13th October.
It’s free, but ticketed, and everyone is urged to attend. Tickets can be found here.