Oxfordshire MPs call on the Government to "go further and end homelessness for good"

Following the Government’s £9.6 million announcement for winter homelessness support in the South East, the five Oxfordshire Liberal Democrat MPs have called on ministers to do much more to deliver real, long-term solutions to end homelessness - not just short-term fixes.

With record numbers of households now living in temporary accommodation across England, including nearly 170,000 children, this latest Government announcement falls far short of addressing the scale of the housing crisis which many councils are struggling to manage against a backdrop of budget cuts and spiralling costs of supporting families in need of temporary accommodation. Official figures show that local authorities now face a £2.8 billion bill for temporary accommodation in 2024–25, up from £2.3 billion last year, a cost many fear is unsustainable. Meanwhile, over 1.3 million households are on social housing waiting lists.

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats have long been campaigners on ending homelessness across the county, from Layla Moran MP and Oxford University student’s campaign on scrapping the Vagrancy Act to Olly Glover MP calling out no fault evictions.

Layla Moran, whose constituency covers much of the City of Oxford, said:

“Oxfordshire is facing a crisis with homelessness. Rough sleeping is on the rise and with over 3,000 people on the wating list for housing in Oxford, action is needed now to prevent a crisis this winter.

With areas such as Oxford city having the highest average rent outside of London, homelessness is on the rise in Oxfordshire and the Government must act now to get a grip on this issue.”

The Oxfordshire Liberal Democrat MPs Freddie van Mierlo, Olly Glover, Charlie Maynard, Calum Miller and Layla Moran said:

“It’s heartbreaking that so many families and children in Oxfordshire will face this winter without a safe, warm place to call home. The Government must step up to end homelessness once and for all. 

We are still waiting on a new homelessness strategy, which should provide more support for Oxfordshire County Council to tackle the huge rise in families in temporary accommodation. The Government must also set a statutory target for building social homes to tackle the 1.3 million households on waiting lists.”

"Liberal Democrats will continue to urge the Government to be ambitious. That includes building the social homes we need - 150,000 social homes annually - abolishing Section 21 no-fault evictions and setting out a strategy to end all forms of homelessness. No more should families be forced to sleep rough and without their basic right to shelter.”