Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MORE OLDER PEOPLE IN ULSTER HOMELESS
2,445 over age of 60 are seeking help Charity call for affordable housing boost
THE number of older people in Northern Ireland seeking help for homelessness has soared, new figures show.
A total of 1,875 men and women had no roof over their heads in 2012/13 – but last year this rose to 2,445.
The upward trend also happened in England in Scotland, with an increase in the number of adults over 60 applying for help with homelessness, such as through asking the local authority for temporary accommodation.
Director at Age UK Caroline Abrahams said: “It’s terrible to think of any older person having nowhere to call home but homelessness among older people is on the rise.
“Local housing allowance and benefit levels are not keeping up with rent increases, meaning some older people are struggling to make ends meet.
“Unless more decent affordable housing becomes available, such as social or supported housing, we fear that more vulnerable older people will become homeless.
“We remind the Government of their commitment to abolish nofault evictions, in order to reduce the number of older people plunged into homelessness.”
The figures, which the Office for National Statistics said should be treated with caution due to variations in recording practices across the UK, come a week after the Government released data showing the number of households living in temporary accommodation in England is at its highest level in more than a decade.
A total of 84,740 families were in bed and breakfasts, hostels and other temporary accommodation at the end of March, including 126,020 children, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.
It is the highest number of households in temporary accommodation since the middle of 2007.
The figure has jumped by more than three-quarters this decade, with the latest statistics showing a 76.5% rise on the low of 48,010 at the end of 2010.
The figures also show London continues to have a disproportionately high number of households in temporary accommodation, with 66% of the total for the whole of England.
Office for National Statistics England saw a 39% increase in the number of main housing duty acceptances for those aged over 60 from 1,800 in 2012–13 to 2,500 in 2017–18.
Scotland saw a small increase in older homelessness applicants, though to a lesser degree than England and Northern Ireland, from 1,278 to 1,391.
The rise in older people asking for assistance coincided with a drop in the number of applications from those aged 16 to 24.
In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the last five years show a downward trend in the number of young adults applying for help with homelessness or being accepted for temporary accommodation.
Local Government Association housing spokesman David Renard said: “Every instance of homelessness is an individual tragedy and councils are determined to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place and support those affected.
“A lack of affordable housing has left many councils struggling to cope with a rising number of people coming to them for help and are having to place more families and households into temporary and emergency accommodation as a result.”