Putting people in hotels during the pandemic made a difference. But far too many remain chronically insecure
When the elements turn hostile, we are more than ever dependent on the roofs over our heads. So evocative is this scenario, of humans walled up against the cold, that there is talk of a film capturing the experience of the group snowed in for three days at a Yorkshire pub during Storm Arwen. But for those without a safe place to shelter, extreme weather is an ordeal to be endured. Last week, the Liverpool Echo reported on complaints about a local McDonald’s that refused to sell hot food to a woman who wanted it for a homeless man she met outside in pouring rain.
Starting in March last year, the Everyone In scheme saw 37,000 rough sleepers offered emergency accommodation, much of it in hotels. But since the initial instruction to councils to take people off the streets, the guidance has been diluted. The already acutely vulnerable group who lack recourse to public funds, due to their immigration status, is set to grow as a result of the government’s borders bill. And there is disagreement about the figures, with the number seeking support last year far greater than would have been indicated by council rough sleeping figures.
