Ministers claim of falling homelessness in the capital misleads Londoners

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 13th Jun 2005

The London Assembly Liberal Democrats today accused Ministers of misleading Londoners of the true extent of the homelessness crisis that is affecting London.

Figures put forward by Government Ministers today showed that the number of new people that had become homeless in the capital had dropped by 18% in a year. However, official figures from Ken Livingstone show that the number of homeless households in London has increased from 64,969 in March 2003 to 67,770 in March 2004.

Liberal Democrats Housing Spokesperson, Dee Doocey, said:-

"It is scandalous that that Ministers decide to celebrate the number of people signing up to homeless has dropped while ignoring the fact that the number of homeless households in the capital continues to rise.

"Even these figures are only the tip of the homelessness iceberg. They ignore single adults or the so-called 'hidden homeless' who have no certainty about where they will sleep."

"The huge increase in homelessness leads to long term social problems including poor health and loss of education. If we can put a man on the moon then why are ministers unable to bring the 100,000 empty homes in London back into use for those who need them most?

"Ministers must not lose sight of the fact that being homelessness is more than being roofless. The number of people in temporary accommodation has risen to intolerable levels and it is now time that the government addressed this trend with as much vigour as it tackled the rough sleeper problem."