After building more affordable homes; preventing homelessness is the key to reducing the number of homeless families in temporary accommodation.

So far in the current financial year from April 2016 to August 2016 there have been 549 families who have made homelessness applications in Milton Keynes. Of those 524 or 95% are in temporary accommodation at the beginning of September. This is not great for the families and expensive for them and the wider Council Tax payer. The main sources of homelessness during this period were:

Cllr Nigel Long, Cabinet lead on housing said, “It is shocking that 41% of homeless families have become homeless from the family home or friend’s homes. We need to find a way of offering families routes into permanent housing before they become homeless. We also need to deal with the private sector who make 31% of families homeless and the 16% of families homeless due to violence.“

He concluded, “We have to offer families hope so that they hold off evicting their sons and daughters. Without a major expansion in decent, affordable housing and a fair allocations system we will struggle to do that.“