Why are these five children sleeping under one duvet on the street? | ITV News скачать в хорошем качестве

Why are these five children sleeping under one duvet on the street? | ITV News

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson has since told us: "We are very sorry to hear about the problems faced by this household. Birmingham City Council recognises the difficulties this family has experienced and acknowledges the significant distress caused by their housing situation. "We take our responsibilities to homeless families extremely seriously and remain committed to ensuring that all children and vulnerable individuals are supported and safeguarded. We are currently reviewing advice provided and ensuring that any learning from this case is embedded in the future practice. "We are committed to acting within our statutory duties, prioritising the safety and wellbeing of children, and providing appropriate assistance to families facing homelessness. "We can confirm that Birmingham City Council offered temporary accommodation as an interim measure for this family, and supported access to suitable permanent accommodation to end their homelessness." ---- ITV News has found that children as young as four years old are being forced to sleep rough on the streets, with local councils in England being accused of breaking the law by denying families emergency accommodation. We spoke to one homeless family in London with five children who slept on the streets for almost two weeks in December, and another family with three children in Birmingham, all under the age of 12, who were forced to sleep in their car. Both families were turned away by local councils, who refused to provide the accommodation after they became homeless. The charity Crisis says councils are increasingly "competing with each other to not help children rough sleeping, which is something I thought we'd never see". According to the government, a household with a child has a priority need and should be provided with temporary accommodation if homeless. If the household does not meet the criteria for homelessness assistance, then children’s services should accommodate them to protect the welfare of the children. In cases where it is not clear which authority owes a duty to accommodate, the local authority approached by the family should provide interim accommodation while inquiries are made or disputes resolved. A Bromley Council spokesperson said, “All approaches for housing assistance in Bromley are carefully checked to ensure that a housing duty is rightly owed. “In this case, we have not received the information to date to show that a housing duty is owed by Bromley, however if further information comes to light, we will of course review this, as we are committed to providing housing in line with our statutory duties.” A spokesperson for Waltham Forest Council said: “The family came to the attention of Waltham Forest Children's Services last December. As soon as we established the significance of their situation, and with the knowledge that they had previously presented as homeless in another part of the capital, our Housing team quickly stepped in to provide emergency accommodation. “Locally we have seen homelessness demand rise by 80 percent in just two years. Research suggests boroughs across London are grappling with a shortfall of £1billion this financial year alone, much of it going on providing temporary accommodation.” • Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj • Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news Follow ITV News on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@itvnews?lang=en Follow ITV News on Instagram:   / itvnews   Follow ITV News on Facebook:   / itvnews   Follow ITV News on X:   / itvnews