Polly has expressed profound concern after government statistics released this week showed that the number of people in Thanet assessed as being potentially at risk of homelessness had skyrocketed by more than 50% in a year.
Polly said the figures showing a 56% increase in the number of people referred for an initial homelessness risk assessment this year in Thanet, compared to 2022-23, were deeply worrying.
This figure far outstripped the average increase across England (10%) and the South East region (24%) over the same period.
The data also showed the number of people owed relief duty due to being homeless in Thanet had increased by 12%. More encouragingly, it showed that the number of people owed a prevention duty (who were threatened with homelessness within 56 days) had fallen by 19%.
Polly said that in a region already worse affected than the national average, the sky-high figures for Thanet were of particular concern. She said:
These profoundly concerning figures show just how many people in Thanet are living at the sharp end of the cost-of-living crisis and are in urgent need of support to prevent them falling into homelessness. I’m really troubled by this data, which shows an increase in initial homelessness assessments in Thanet that is more than five times the national average increase this year.
Thanet District Council and our new Labour government are working hard to tackle the growing homelessness crisis, but these figures demonstrate that they are grappling with the legacy of fourteen years of chaos and inaction under the previous Conservative government. The Tories’ record stands in stark contrast to that of the last Labour government, who reduced rough sleeping by two thirds in the first five years of entering government.
What we need now is concerted action to get our economy going, to tackle the root causes of poverty, and to deliver urgently needed social and affordable homes. That is what our local council and our new government are committed to delivering, and I will continue to do everything in my power as the MP for East Thanet to support them in their mission to end homelessness once and for all.