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Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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Councils call for fairer funding

December 08 2010
Homeless funding is unfairly distributed, say some London councils


London councils have called on the government to end the "unfair" allocation of homeless funding in the capital.

Enfield, Haringey and Newham said that the current system was "unfair and leads to major disparities between boroughs", adding that they were "dismayed" at plans to extend the system for another four years.

The three boroughs have some of the highest levels of homelessness in London, yet receive the lowest levels of government funding, they argued.

London has 37,900 households living in temporary accommodation, and despite housing 24 per cent of them, these councils receive just three per cent of the capital's Homelessness Grant.

Haringey's allocation of £200,000 is the equivalent of just £57 for each household living in temporary accommodation, according to the borough. This compares to more than £16,000 per household in the City of London, the councils said.

Just six London boroughs (including Westminster, Camden, and Kensington & Chelsea) receive 65 per cent of London's Homelessness Grant, despite accommodating just 18 per cent of the city's households in temporary accommodation.

Speaking on behalf of the three councils, Councillor Claire Kober, leader of Haringey Council, said: "We are dismayed by the government's decision to continue with a homelessness grant funding regime that is neither fair nor based on any evidence of relative need.

"We cannot understand why the government is unwilling or unable to take into account the scale of each borough's homelessness problem when determining the amount of grant each London borough should receive," she said.

< Homeless services funding under threat in London Disease hits Canada's homeless >
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