160,000 households in the UK are homeless; by 2041 this could be close to 400,000.
This is according to a July 2018 report by WPI Economics, for Crisis UK and HomelessLink, on how Brexit could affect homelessness.
The report argues that policy discussion of Brexit has been on economic impacts, not social policy. It suggests a national agenda for ending homelessness should include:
- Providing a new and positive settlement for EU nationals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and currently struggle to access the support they need;
- Ensuring benefit levels and eligibility (including housing-related benefits) fully support the need for Great Britain to recruit and retain a global workforce;
- Increasing the supply of affordable and social rent housing;
- Greater security for private sector renters; and ultimately
- The introduction of a ‘right to housing’.
Brexit isn’t just about dry numbers and statistics: it’s about lives, and the type of country we want the UK to be.
See the Social Shorthand story or read the report in full.