Hundreds of households homeless or at risk across county, figures show

Nationally, the number of people identified as homeless has risen slightly, as Shelter says there is a clear danger of the problem worsening further when pandemic measures are lifted.

But a national decrease in the threat of homelessness came as the Government and local authorities sought to ensure as many people as possible had roofs over their heads during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Between October and December last year, 131 families or individuals in Telford & Wrekin were identified as homeless by the council, up from 41 the year before, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government figures show.

A further 136 households were eligible for council help as they were at risk of homelessness in winter 2020 – up from 77 in 2019.

In the same timeframe in Shropshire, 167 families or individuals in Shropshire were identified as homeless by the council – up from 142 the year before. Another 49 households were eligible for council help – down from 76 in 2019.

Pandemic measures including the Everyone In scheme – which saw local authorities work to provide emergency accommodation to as many people in need as possible – a restriction on evictions and lengthened notice periods for landlords contributed to significant changes to England’s statutory homelessness levels, according to the MHCLG.

Local Government Association chairman James Jamieson said councils were determined to build on the success of Everyone In.

He added: “It is vital we draw on lessons learned during the pandemic and ensure this is not just a one-off emergency response.”

Private sector eviction restrictions led to a drop of almost half in the number of households threatened with homelessness via the serving of a Section 21 notice, which landlords must issue before ending tenancies.

Shelter’s chief executive Polly Neate said: “The economic impact of the pandemic has exposed the true cost of decades of failure to build the social homes we need.

"More than 60,000 households were tipped into homelessness last winter – even with the evictions ban. In just over a month the ban on evictions is going to lift, and even more struggling families could be faced with the same fate.”