homelessness – Saddleworth Liberal Democrats

13Jun 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Vagrancy Act: Moran condemns ‘duplicitous’ proposal to bring back Act

Layla Moran, Lib Dem MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, has slammed the Government as ‘duplicitous’ for including a clause in the new Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which would allow for the reintroduction of the recently repealed Vagrancy Act. The clause allows for the Secretary of State for DLUHC to re-criminalise rough sleeping, despite the House of Commons voting to repeal the Vagrancy Act earlier this year. The Government claims that this is ‘placeholder text’ which will be amended at the Committee Stage of the Bill, but has not given assurances that rough sleepers will be protected from the return of this legislation. The repeal of the Vagrancy Act was the culmination of a campaign which began in 2018 for Layla, after it was brought to her attention by…

22Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Vagrancy Act repealed: Archaic and cruel law consigned to history

Parliamentary news

In reaction to the news that the Vagrancy Act will be repealed, long time campaigner against the Act, Layla Moran MP said: “After years of campaigning I am elated that we consigned this archaic and cruel law to history. No one should be criminalised for sleeping rough, especially by a piece of legislation passed in the Georgian era. “This is testament to the hard work of so many people: the students who first brought the issue to my attention, and to our campaign partners Crisis. “This can transform the way we talk about rough sleeping and homelessness in this country, from criminalisation to compassion. “While we can celebrate today, tomorrow we return to the hard work of holding the government to account on their manifesto commitment to ending rough sleeping…

03Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Over 60,000 families living in temporary accommodation while four times as many homes sit empty

Parliamentary news

Over 60,000 families are set to start the new year in insecure accommodation while four times as many homes sit empty across England, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. The party’s analysis of the latest official figures reveal that over 60,490 households with children across England were in temporary accommodation. These households are home to 125,000 children in total. Meanwhile, as of December 9th, there were over 268,000 homes classified as ‘Long-Term Vacant’ - meaning they’ve been vacant for longer than 6 months. Those relying on this short-term housing include families who’ve lost jobs due to the pandemic, vulnerable people, and those who were previously homeless. The Liberal Democrats are demanding the Government make it a priority in the new year to secure permanent homes for children around the…

13Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Action needed to tackle surge in homelessness of women and girls

Parliamentary news

Responding to concerns from homelessness charities that the number of women relying on their services is increasing, Liberal Democrat Women and Equalities Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP said: "The Conservatives pledged to end rough sleeping, but now their policies are making it worse - especially for women and girls. They ignored all the warnings about cutting Universal Credit and ending the eviction ban, and now we are seeing the tragic results. "No one should be forced to sleep on the streets. The Government must get on with the job of ending rough sleeping by 2024, including banning 'no-fault' evictions as they promised more than two years ago."

10Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Rough sleeping across England soars by 39.4% in past year

Parliamentary news

Figures show the number of households assessed as rough sleeping across England have soared by 39.4% in the past year, up from 8,310 to 11,580. Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who this week held a House of Commons debate on rough sleeping, has called on the government to take action to live up to their manifesto commitment of ending rough sleeping across the country stating that we are “in dire need of action”. The Lib Dem MP also called out the "heartless" cut to Universal Credit saying that it would "plunge even more people into poverty." The figures show a huge rise in rough sleeping across the nation's capital London, with a 66% increase in rough sleeping bringing the total to a staggering 11,580. Commenting on the stats, Liberal Democrat…

08Jun 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Homelessness fears grow over cuts to renters

Borough news

A £40 million cut in support for renters – to below pre-pandemic levels – is likely to drive up homelessness rates across the borough, warns Shadow Cabinet member for Housing, Sam Al-Hamdani. The cuts to discretionary housing payments provide support to people claiming housing benefit or universal credit who face rent shortfalls, or for assistance with deposits. They are to be cut by 22%, in a change which was put through without attention being drawn to it in the spring budget. Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “So many people have spent the last year trying to manage in extraordinary circumstances. People’s jobs are at risk, and the last thing we need is for people to have emergency support withdrawn. “The Government’s own figures show that three times as…

11May 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Queen’s Speech: Government urged to repeal “heartless” Vagrancy Act

Parliamentary news

Over 60 MPs and Peers from five parties, as well as crossbenchers and the Bishop of Manchester, have written to Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick urging him to include the repeal of the Vagrancy Act in today’s Queen’s Speech, in a letter led by Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran. Signatories include the Bishop of Manchester and Lord Morse, the ex-Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office, as well as parliamentarians from the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Labour, Greens and Plaid Cymru. In the letter, they urge the Housing Secretary to act following his comments in the House of Commons in late February, saying: “A failure to ensure the scrapping of the Act in the next session would deal a blow to cross-party efforts to address the homelessness crisis with a…

25Feb 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Govt must scrap cruel Vagrancy Act

Parliamentary news

Responding to Robert Jenrick's remarks in the House of Commons that the Vagrancy Act should be repealed, Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and International Development, said: “I'm delighted to hear that Robert Jenrick thinks the outdated, cruel Vagrancy Act should be consigned to history. The Liberal Democrats and colleagues on all sides agree and have been urging him to repeal for years. "In 2021 sleeping rough should not be a crime. Scrapping this archaic law represents the first step in a journey to taking a more compassionate and holistic approach to homelessness. "I've already introduced a cross-party Bill that would repeal it in a heartbeat. It's time for Jenrick to follow through on his word, pick it up and scrap the Act." The Vagrancy Act 1824…

15Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Rise in homeless deaths demands end of Vagrancy Act

Parliamentary news

The Liberal Democrats are renewing calls for the Vagrancy Act to be scrapped, as new official statistics reveal a rise in the number of deaths of homeless people in 2019. The figures from the Office for National Statistics, published today, show that there were an estimated 778 deaths in 2019, an increase of 7.2% since 2018. The highest numbers of deaths were in London (144) and the North West (126). Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who has tabled a Bill to repeal the Vagrancy Act, said: “Every one of these deaths is heart-breaking. The fact that so many people are dying on our streets is the most shameful example of the failure of our housing and welfare systems. “The Conservative Government doesn’t seem to care. For too long, they have…

01Jun 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Government must urgently scrap Vagrancy Act as part of plan to end rough sleeping

Parliamentary news

Following today's announcements from the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary and Dame Louise Casey relating to support for rough sleepers, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said: “After years of prevarication it took a crisis to get the Tories to house thousands who were sleeping rough at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's vital that this support continues in the months ahead, to ensure we don't go backwards when such progress has been made. “Ministers must now show they are completely committed to tackling this issue head on. “That is why the Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to commit to scrapping the Dickensian Vagrancy Act - which unfairly criminalises people for rough sleeping - as a matter of urgency. Otherwise the law remains wholly incompatible with the plans outlined to support rough sleepers in…

Tag: homelessness