Homeless figures down

New homelessness cases are at their lowest level in England since the early 1980s, according to quarterly government figures published yesterday.

Just under 20,000 households were accepted as homeless by local authorities from April to June, down 7 per cent on the previous quarter and 29 per cent lower than the same period last year.

The number of households in temporary accommodation also fell by 3 per cent from the previous quarter to 93,910.

But the number of rough sleepers has increased from 456 to 502 over the past year.