Extend ban on evictions argue local LibDems
THE Liberal Democrats in West Lancashire have urged the Government to extend the eviction ban as official figures reveal that seven West Lancashire families in private rented accommodation were deemed at risk of homelessness.
LibDem MP Layla Moran – chair of the All-Party Group on Coronavirus – warned ministers must act now to “stop a devastating surge in homelessness sweeping across the country as we face a potential second wave.”
According to official statistics, nine house- holds in West Lan- cashire are assessed as being threatened with homelessness, with another 30 assessed as homeless from January to March 2020.
Eleven of households who were homeless or threatened with homelessness cited the end of a private rented tenancy as the reason for losing their last settled home.
Now Ben Lowe, LibDem spokesperson for West Lancashire, has said: “Families in West Lancashire must be protected from homelessness.
Instead, it seems like the Conservatives are happy to leave people to fend for themselves at a time when jobs are at risk and people are struggling.
“People deserve better. These figures are yet further proof the Government must rethink its heartless decision to resume evictions from 23 August.”
Layla Moran said: “Thousands of families in the private rented sector were already being threatened with homelessness earlier this year, now they face losing their homes in the middle of a pandemic.
“Ministers must act now to stop a devastating surge in homelessness sweeping across the country as we face a potential second wave.
“The sharp rise in rough sleeping also shows why criminalising rough sleeping through the Vagrancy Act must end. Instead, Ministers should protect emergency funding for local councils to permanently