Huge rise in homeless families in Kensington & Chelsea

12.56.29pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 18th Apr 2008

The number of local homeless families has leapt by 75% since 1997

LIBERAL Democrats in Kensington & Chelsea are calling for government action to tackle homelessness after figures revealed there has been a shock rise in the number of local families living in temporary accommodation.

Government figures show that there were 945 households without a home of their own in Kensington & Chelsea in 2006/7. This is a rise of 411 since 1997 when Labour came to power.

During that decade there has been an overall fall of 450,000 affordable houses for rent from social landlords, such as local councils, in England.

Dr Iarla Kilbane-Dawe, the new Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Kensington said, "These are very worrying figures. They mean that 945 families are without a proper home. That's 75% more families than in 1997.

"There has been a lamentable failure by the Government to address the housing crisis in England. Labour are strangling council housing. Gordon Brown has ensured only a handful of new council houses have been built during the past decade across the country.

"The rise in the number of people in temporary accommodation here in Kensington & Chelsea is s symptom of Labour's failure.

"In March, Liberal Democrats backed calls in Parliament to give councils the power and resources to build new houses. The measure was defeated by the Government whilst the Conservatives sat on their hands and refused to take part in the vote.

"Had the measures been agreed, we could start to address the housing shortage here in Kensington & Chelsea. Instead, we will end up with more people in temporary housing and many others living in over-crowded conditions."