Heather Wheeler doesn’t know why numbers are rising. A look back over Tory austerity measures could enlighten herThe new “homelessness minister” has begun her job badly. Heather Wheeler claims not to know why homelessness has risen for seven consecutive years – that’s every year since she was elected. She has also been gazumped by the Cabinet Office minister,David Lidington, who is also chair of the governments rough sleeping advisory panel. The panel has finally held its first, and belated,assembly.
Wheeler needs to accept to grips with the brief she has held since January. The first step in tackling any problem is understanding what has caused it. Admitting she doesnt understand this basic element of her brief is terrible news for homeless people and bodes badly for her governments commitment to halve homelessness by 2022. I welcome this target as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for ending homelessness and support the minister’s claim she will “slouch heaven and soil to tackle the problem, but the first step is a tough, and objective look at how it has come about.
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Source: guardian.co.uk