LGA calls for more resources after first figures on homeless deaths
0The Local Government Association has responded to the first ONS data attempting to measure the number of deaths of homeless people in England and Wales.
Responding to the figures, Cllr Marin Tett, the Local Government Association’s housing spokesman said: “Councils are determined to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping from happening in the first place and support families affected.
“This is becoming increasingly difficult with homelessness services facing a funding gap of more than £100m in 2019/20.
“Proper resourcing of local government funding is essential if we are going to end rising homelessness.
“Councils also need to keep 100% of the receipts of any homes they sell to replace them and reinvest in building more of the genuinely affordable homes they desperately need and the ability to adapt welfare reforms to prevent people from losing their home where possible.”
The ONS’s data show an estimated 597 deaths of homeless people in England and Wales in 2017, a figure that had risen 24% over the previous five years.
The mean age at death in 2017 was 44 years for men, and 42 for women, compared with 76 and 81 respectively in the general population.
