Homeless families and households living in overcrowded housing marched to the government’s housing headquarters on Thursday (11 April) morning calling for radical action with the 142,490 children experiencing homelessness in England.
The campaigners delivered the eviction notice to Gove at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ (DLUHC) London base, which told the cabinet minister he must commit to “a council housing revolution” to avoid being turfed out.
The mock eviction notice called for Michael Gove to deliver a ‘council housing revolution’ or face being out of office. Image: HASL
Elizabeth Wyatt, a member of the group behind the protest, Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL), told the Big Issue up to 300 protesters turned out for the demonstration making it the “biggest protest of homeless families in decades”.
“This devastating housing emergency is ruining the lives of over 140,000 children in England. And this is a political choice that has been made by this government for the last 14 years and it is absolutely unforgivable,” said Wyatt.
“But this can be turned around, it’s really that simple, we can solve the homeless crisis instantly with investment and expansion of high-quality, safe, secure, family-sized council homes that our communities need and deserve. After decades of neglect of council housing, the situation has got so dire that urgent, radical action is needed.”
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The eviction notice being too large for the DLUHC security scanner meant the protesters couldn’t get the giant placard to Gove. Image: HASL
All measurements of homelessness have shown an increase in recent months.
Despite a promise to end rough sleeping in 2024, the number of people sleeping on the street rose by 27% in the last year, according to official figures.
There has been a rise in the number of households contacting councils for support with homelessness. The most recent quarterly statistics show 87,510 households presented as homeless to local authorities between July and September 2023, up 12.2% on the same period in 2022.
Children smashed pinatas of hostels and buildings representing squalid temporary accommodation during the protest. Image: HASL
Meanwhile, the number of households living in temporary accommodation has continued to hit new heights in the last year. The record-high 109,000 households living in temporary accommodation, including 69,680 with children, is even leaving some councils warning the situation could tip them towards the brink of bankruptcy.
These figures are the backdrop which drove families to take action on Thursday with piñatas of squalid temporary accommodation and a long housing waiting list demolished by children in the protest.
Kids also decorated placards about the housing crisis while their families gave short speeches about their experiences in unsuitable housing on the steps of DLUHC HQ.
The protesters urged the government to build more family sized homes with more than three bedrooms to ease overcrowding.
Protesters called for more houses with three bedrooms or more to ease overcrowding and the wider housing crisis for families. Image: HASL
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “We are building more homes and boosting social housing supply. Our £11.5bn affordable homes programme will deliver thousands more affordable homes to rent and buy across the country. £4bn of this has been allocated to the Mayor of London to deliver much needed affordable housing in the capital.
“We are giving councils £1.2bn over three years to help provide financial support for people to find a new home and move out of temporary accommodation, including £568m for London.”
Social housing waiting lists were also smashed to showcase the protesters’ displeasure at the housing crisis. Image: HASL
It’s not the first time a HASL protest has captured attention this year.
The group occupied Lambeth Council’s office in January to call for action after baby Dareen Nuru was hospitalised six times in the first year of her life due to damp and mould at her family’s overcrowded flat.
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