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Shocking new figures show a quarter of people turning to Knowsley Council facing homelessness are in work.

People with jobs accounted for 25% of those facing homelessness in the Knowsley borough last year.

More than 2,200 people turned to Knowsley Council for help avoiding homelessness in 2018/19 - 400 more than the year before, according to the local authority’s draft homelessness strategy.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of homelessness charity Crisis, described the figures as “shocking”, adding that this reflected the national picture where more than a quarter of households facing homelessness had at least one person in full- or part-time work.

Mr Sparkes said: “Trying to maintain work, or even looking for work, while sleeping rough, sofa-surfing or living in temporary accommodation can make a desperate situation even worse, and we cannot let this continue.”

Problems in the private rented sector have become an increasingly significant cause of homelessness over recent years.

In 2015, domestic violence was the leading cause of homelessness in Knowsley, followed by parents or friends becoming unable or unwilling to provide accommodation.

Five years later, violence is not even in the top three causes of homelessness, and the ending of private tenancies has become the second-leading cause behind people being kicked out of parents or friends’ homes.

Mr Sparkes said: “The lack of affordable housing, and insufficient rates of housing benefit creates a constant pressure that pushes people to the brink of homelessness.

“We know homelessness can be ended and ensuring housing benefit covers the true cost of rent is a vital step towards this.

“We must see urgent Government investment in housing benefit, so it covers the cheapest third of rents across the country, so that no one is at risk of homelessness any longer.”

(Image: Liverpool ECHO)

Knowsley Council’s homelessness strategy, due to be debated at a committee meeting on Tuesday (January 14), states 989 people were assessed as being homeless or at risk of becoming homeless within 56 days last year.

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Four years ago, the number of people making formal homelessness applications to the council averaged just 185.

Young people ‘lack skills to manage tenancy’

According to the strategy, young people have become increasingly vulnerable to homelessness as accommodation costs have risen and they are forced to live with their parents for longer.

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The draft document says: “Single homeless people under the age of 35 that are reliant on Universal Credit are finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable accommodation due to the lack of shared accommodation in the private sector and one bedroom accommodation within the social housing sector.”

It adds that homelessness services across the country have raised concerns that “young people are lacking the skills to manage their own tenancy”.

The report says: “If young people are denied the chance of making their own home due to unaffordability, then it is expected that their independence and confidence is hampered and the accompanied dependence on parents then leads to increased stress and mental health issues for all those that are concerned.”

To combat homelessness, the strategy suggests increasing the availability of one- and two-bedroom homes and shared accommodation and increase the supply of private rented accommodation.