London homeless rate rises by over two-fifths

The number of rough sleepers on London’s streets has increased by more than two-fifths over the past year as many Britons are struggling to make ends meet within the country’s stagnate economy.

The number of people classed as homeless and in need of emergency accommodation has soared 43 percent in the British capital in the last 12 months, Reuters reported.

According to statistics compiled by outreach groups and local authorities, nearly 6,000 people slept rough in London at some point during 2011-2012, up from about 3,900 the year before and 3,000 in 2006-2007.

Some charities believe that the introduction of additional cuts to housing benefits by the Tory-led government will aggravate the situation, when Britain’s local authorities and charities have already faced reductions in their budgets.

Mick Bateman, head of the charity Crisis at Christmas, said, “There has definitely been an increase in rough sleeping this year and the cuts in benefits are obviously putting more people into hardship, so we are expecting to see more people with us this Christmas.”

Earlier in July, a research found that the number of the homeless families and individuals in England has surged by a quarter in the recent three years.

According to data experts SSentif, the number of homeless households was 50,290 in 2011-12, showing an increase of over 25 percent when compared with 40,020 in 2009-2010.

Source: Press TV