Number of Britons sleeping rough increasing: Report
The number of people sleeping rough in Britain has increased considerably, according to a report, as many blame government cuts to social services as a main reason.
In a Friday report, the Guardian said the problem of homelessness in the United Kingdom was being underestimated by the government, adding that thousands of people sleep rough every night in the country.
It said the number of British rough sleepers had increased by more than 57 percent since 2011, adding that a single charity had accommodated more than 9,000 people in last Christmas alone.
The report said authorities have mostly sought to downplay the acuteness of the crisis, adding that government agencies have strict rules to include people in their lists of rough sleepers and insist people living in encampments are not necessarily in the category.
The report, dubbed Tented Britain: rise in rough sleepers taking shelter under canvas, said encampments had become a feature of the British life and the country was not far from becoming like the United States where tent cities are seen everywhere.
It cited officials from cities with higher rate of homelessness as saying that a main reason for the crisis was government cuts in social services.
“A lot of this is to do with service cuts, whether that be the NHS, the police, some council services, those support services that were previously there if you had a drug or alcohol addiction,” said Peter Marland, the leader of the Milton Keynes council in southern England.
Marland said those services were in fact in place to prevent people from becoming homeless and sleep on the streets.
He said that "obviously what a lot of those support services were doing is keeping people away from being homeless."
Six months of rallies in London: Thousands call for Gaza ceasefire
Pro-Palestine activists paint UK Labour Party office red
20% of teachers in England physically assaulted by students in 2023: Study
Yemenis, Jordanians reiterate support for Palestinians in Gaza
Iranians rally nationwide in support of Operation True Promise
Raeisi: Operation True Promise ‘a necessary response’ to Israel
OIC slams US for blocking Palestine’s bid for full UN membership
US police arrest 108 pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University
Top commander names four 'historic achievements' of Operation True Promise
VIDEO | Iranian attack and crisis of entity
UN chief: Israel’s war turned Gaza into 'humanitarian hellscape'
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
