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Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, today accuses the Government of making people homeless by freezing housing benefits.

He is calling for an increase in the local housing allowance element of Universal Credit, which has been held at the same level since 2016 - an effective cut, because of the impact of inflation.

Mr Street said: "The government’s freezing of the local housing allowance rate has undoubtedly contributed to an increase in homelessness in the West Midlands."

He has joined forces with homelessness charity Crisis to press the Government to increase the allowance.

Writing in The Guardian, he said that someone looking for a one-bedroom self-contained flat in Birmingham is eligible for just £441.31 a month.

This is the same as in 2016, but private rents have gone up 11% over the last three years.

What's more, people under 35 are only eligible for £248.47 a month because they are expected to live in a bedroom with a shared bathroom, lavatory and kitchen, even if they’re unable to find suitable shared accommodation.

Mr Street said: "No wonder that many people fall behind on their payments and end up being evicted.

"Losing a private tenancy as a result of getting into arrears is the most common reason to become homeless."

Low payments also mean landlords are encouraged to skimp on maintenance, leaving tenants "in poor-quality housing", according to the mayor.

And he said homelessness in the West Midlands was undermining efforts to "restore pride in the region".

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

Mr Street said: "Alongside the cranes and new offices, rough sleepers are to be found in doorways and at mobile soup kitchens. Behind closed doors, there are thousands of people sleeping on sofas at the homes of friends or family, families in B&Bs and vulnerable people living in some of the worst quality shared housing.

"No one can take pride in that."

He insisted his Housing First scheme, funded with £10 million from the Government, was working and had provided accommodation for 73 homeless people.

But the mayor said: "There is an urgent need for the government to act, and it cannot wait until Brexit is sorted out. The new government needs to increase local housing allowance to a level where 30% of rented homes in any area are affordable to everyone.

"We should make sure that the lower rate for shared accommodation only applies to those actually living in shared accommodation, regardless of their age. We should also crack down on poor-quality housing, and government should also allow people to opt for the local housing allowance to be paid directly to landlords."

The latest official figures show there are 2,447 households in temporary accommodation in Birmingham alone. That includes 2,058 households with children.

Of these, 307 are stuck in bed and breakfast hotels and another 137 are in hostels.

The last count of rough sleepers in Birmingham, which took place last year, found 91 people sleeping rough in the city, up from 57 in 2017. Many experts say the real figure is likely to be higher than the count shows.

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

And Office for National Statistics data shows 90 deaths of homeless people in Birmingham were recorded in five years up to the end of 2017.

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive at Crisis, said: “We know that the increasing gap between private rents and housing benefit is putting people are under constant pressure to meet simply meet the basic cost rent. This overwhelming pressure month after month is becoming too much for many and they are being forced into homelessness. No-one should have to live like this.

“To prevent more and more people being pushed into homelessness, we urgently need commitment from the government to both end the current freeze on Local Housing Allowance, and also ensure it is set at a level that covers the real cost of renting. Ending homelessness for good is entirely possible, but it is only achievable with changes like this.”

Jean Templeton, CEO of the Birmingham-based St Basil’s charity for young homeless people, heads up the WMCA’s Homelessness Taskforce, which was set up when Mr Street was elected as Mayor of the West Midlands.

She said: “Homelessness is a complex issue, which requires the public, private and voluntary sectors to work together to address the root causes.

“Increasing the Local Housing Allowance and enabling people to have it paid direct to landlords from the start of their tenancy would make a huge impact in reducing homelessness and improving people’s health and wellbeing.”