Welfare Reforms During The Uk s Largest Hostel For...

The following article is one that has captured my attention over the past few months notably because of the seemingly ruthless nature of the story. Twenty-nine young single mothers, including eight expectant mothers and twenty-three children living in the UK’s largest hostel for homeless young people in London may have to be re-housed as a result of welfare reforms. It has been described as one of the largest displacements of vulnerable people since the coalition government’s welfare reforms began. The mothers have been told they may possibly be re-housed as far as Manchester, Birmingham and Hastings, which is not anywhere where they are familiar. Newham Council has cut  £41,000 of ‘Supporting People funding’ at the hostel, so all†¦show more content†¦According to the Department for Communities and Local Government the term ‘homeless’ is used to describe households who are threatened with the loss of a roof over their head or unable to continue with their current accommodation. A household is considered homeless if they no longer have a legal right to occupy their accommodation. A local authority has a â€Å"homelessness duty† to secure accommodation to â€Å"priority need groups† and Households with dependent children and/or a pregnant woman are considered to be in this category. Between April and June 2014, 7,870 households were placed in temporary accommodation (Howard, 2014). This article highlights the callousness of what Newham Council are doing because there is the polarity of homelessness and poverty with unnecessary expenditure. The shock value is further enhanced by the fact that there are children involved. According to section 10 of the Children Act 2004, each local authority has a duty to co-operate in improving the welfare of a child. Under this section the local authority must consider the significance of parents and other persons caring for children. Section 10 also states that a local authority should seek to improve the physical, mental, and emotional well being of children; protect them from harm and neglect, and improve their social and economic well being (Children Act, 2004). This is