Homeless crisis may get worse, warn support groups

The Government has been warned that the homelessness crisis may worsen unless steps are taken to protect people in the private, rented sector, after latest figures showed a record 9,104 people were homeless in January.

It is the first time the monthly homelessness total has topped the 9,000-mark, with the number trebling since the first monthly figures were produced in July 2014.

The January figure comprised 5,837 adults and 3,267 children, and 1,517 families. The latter is an increase from the 1,408 families homeless in December, but slightly lower than the comparable figure for last November.