MPs slam care in Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive failed homeless people
because it was too complacent, MPs have concluded.

Homelessness in Northern Ireland has risen 50 per cent since 1999,
making it the highest in the UK. There were “some extraordinarily
insensitive mismatches between homeless persons’ special needs and
the accommodation provided”, the report from the public accounts
committee reveals.

Average stay in B&Bs was 97 days – three times the government’s
target – which showed a disturbing degree of complacency about
meeting the statutory duty towards society’s most vulnerable
people, the report says.

The housing executive has vowed to make homelessness a priority
with the help of a new homelessness management information
system.

– Housing the Homeless from www.publications.parliament.uk/