Homeless hidden from government report

7.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 13th Jun 2006

Rough sleepers account for only a fraction of all homeless

Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesman Dan Rogerson MP has today commented on the homelessness statistics released by the Department for Communities and Local Government, saying:

"These figures do not tell the whole story, as they only record households that are deemed to be in 'priority need'. This excludes over ten thousands households who are eligible for assistance.

"Furthermore, the report showed that over 96,000 households are in temporary accommodation, more than double the number in 1997.

Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for Northampton North, Andrew Simpson said:

"It is completely misleading for the government to publish a report on homelessness whilst hiding the facts. The homeless charity Crisis have research that shows there are up to 380,000 households living in hostels, squats or temporary accommodation, in other words the 'hidden homeless'.

"Liberal Democrats are demanding a full audit of homelessness. We believe the way forward is to tackle the scandal of empty homes, which offer an efficient, affordable and environmentally friendly way of increasing housing supply."

To find out more about Lib Dem policy on housing go to: http://www.libdems.org.uk/community/issues/housing