Lambeth council plans to move homeless families to Margate

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Nick Hodgson4 April 2013

A London council is considering moving homeless families to Margate, one of the country’s economic black-spots, the Local Government Chronicle reports.

The news has triggered concerns in the faded seaside town, which already has a large number of children in care, that it could face increased demand for social services.

Lambeth council said it was exploring offering some homes and flats in Margate on a temporary basis to people who needed somewhere to live.

The council insisted the plan was not about saving money by using cheaper accommodation outside the capital and was unrelated to the Government’s introduction of a £400-a-week cap on housing benefits.

A Lambeth spokesman said: “Like many councils, we have a shortage of temporary accommodation and would welcome any funding support from central government to help us provide homes for those in need. The Government is cutting Lambeth’s funding by 45 per cent which is putting our services under great pressure.

“One of the options we have for meeting the challenge of helping those in need of temporary accommodation is to offer them the option of staying in homes outside Lambeth, including a small number of properties in Kent. It is important to be clear this is being done on a voluntary basis. If a resident declines the offer to move to Kent, they would not be forced to do so.”

But Councillor Jenny Whittle, Kent County Council’s cabinet member for children’s care, said: “We are very concerned. It is very difficult to predict the pressures but it is inevitable there will be some on children’s services as well as others.”

A spokesman for the local Thanet District Council said they have sent a Freedom of Information request to London councils including Lambeth to ask about any similar plans.

Residents in Lambeth gave a mixed response to the proposal.

An NHS worker from Brixton, who did not wish to be named, said: “Working in the NHS I see a wide range of people so I can appreciate how difficult it can be to live in the city on low incomes. Perhaps people would have a better quality of life where rents and the cost of living are cheaper, as long as the facilities were there too like public transport and recreational activities.”

But primary school teacher Alex Farley, 28, also from Brixton, said: “I am actually totally against this and think it’s a terrible idea. This should be the worse case scenario. People should be able to live where they want to, and not have to disrupt their whole lives by moving.”

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