What are the ingredients for successful Gyspy and Traveller sites?
As a new report highlights the importance of providing sites for the estimated 150,000 members of the Gypsy and Traveller population, John Perry explores what it takes to provide sites which work. Last month came a reminder about what was claimed five years ago to be Britain’s biggest unauthorised Traveller encampment, when the local authority […]
Still not tackling the causes of homelessness
The regular Homelessness Monitors published by Crisis for each of the four countries of the UK have helped marshal the evidence and focus attention on a persistent problem which rational minds would have thought had been solved in the UK well before this century began. Unfortunately, not only is this not the case but in […]
Funding switch
Will the chancellor’s bid to halt the decline in owner-occupation work? The Autumn Statement’s extra investment for housing towards the end of this parliament is very good news. We could never hope to address our national supply crisis without government action. But the way it will be configured means a massive boost to homeownership, apparently […]
Homelessness – is it getting worse and where is policy heading?
Two reports out this month and next present an overview of homelessness in England and allow judgements to be made on whether or not current policies are working. The Homeless Monitor: England, published by Crisis, takes the official homelessness statistics as its starting point: rough sleeping has been increasing (albeit more slowly of late), while […]
Remembering Felicita Zeledón: the woman who told the world about the tragedy at Posoltega
The untimely death of Felicita Zeledón, a member of the National Assembly, recalls the tragedy that hit the rural area of Posoltega on the morning of 30 October 1998. Zeledón, then mayor of the small town on the Leon-Chinandega highway, became the central figure in dealing with the biggest humanitarian crisis in Nicaragua since the […]
Housing has fared worse than many other services
English councils’ budgets for 2014/15, published this month, show that their current spending has fallen by 23% over the five years of this parliament. How have the cuts affected housing? Chartered Institute of Housing figures show that housing fared worse than many other services with a 28% cut – once housing benefit was taken out […]
Housing clampdown could drive migrants into poor quality accommodation
Ministers claim the updated rules will reduce both exploitation and illegal immigration, but it seems unlikely they will have much effect on either.
Here come the Romanians – or not? Talk of a housing crisis is a scare story
The next wave will not be a repeat of 2004. The real risk is that low-paid immigrants could be forced to live on the streets.
Grant Shapps’ ‘beds in sheds’ taskforce: the ingredients for success
Grant Shapps’ campaign to tackle “beds in sheds” has already provoked a lot of comment, much of it pointing out that the issue is not confined to migrants. In Newham, we now know of a tenant reportedly living in a walk-in freezer.
Homelessness: behind the headlines
The latest homelessness figures show that rising rents, constraints on housing benefit and cuts to council budgets are all coming home to roost.
John Perry lives in Masaya, Nicaragua where he works on